This weekend, GT World Challenge Europe kicks off the 2026 Sprint Cup season at Brands Hatch in the United Kingdom. Last year, the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde secured the title in Valencia after a rollercoaster campaign.

Ahead of the season opener, GT REPORT sat down with Charles to discuss all things GT World Challenge Europe and look ahead to the new season.

Reflection on 2025 Season

Looking back on the 2025 season, Weerts credits consistency as the defining factor behind his and Van Der Linde’s title success. Despite not always being the outright fastest package, the duos ability to deliver results at every round proved decisive.

“I think it was really just a matter of being consistent.  At the end of the day, we did  not score a pole position, but I just think that us as a team had a more complete package and a good line up with Kelvin.” said the Belgian driver to GT REPORT.

“Obviously, we know how critical pit stops are in the Sprint Championship, and ours were always spot on. We were consistently in the mix, even if we weren’t always the outright fastest, and in the end, that consistency really played in our favour.”

“It didn’t make things easy for us in Valencia in the final race of the year. It was a pretty stressful one overall. We were quite far off the pace on Saturday, and then, with the crash we had, it resulted in our only DNF of the season.”

“But despite that bad luck, things balanced out slightly, as some of our main competitors were also involved in incidents which meant everything was to play for on Sunday, and yeah, ultimately we got the championship in the bag.”

BMW M4 GT3 Evo: A Step Forward in Driveability

Ahead of the 2025 season BMW announced that the M4 GT3 would be getting an EVO upgrade. A lot of things have changed with the upgrade but what is it like from a drivers perspective.

“I cannot give so much detail on technical things, but definitely from a feedback point of view, the car was made to be easier to drive and better suited to race conditions, and I think those goals were clearly achieved.

“We also saw, not only in the Pro categories but also in Silver and Bronze, that it’s not just professional drivers who can drive the car quickly, but drivers of all levels. I think that was the main goal for BMW to provide a car that is suitable for any kind of driver.”

Building on an already strong foundation, the EVO package delivered incremental but meaningful progress. 

“They obviously started from the base of the M4, which was already very strong. They then added some small evolutions, which were definitely positive, so overall it was a great year for the car last season.”

Brands Hatch: A Unique Challenge

Brands Hatch retains its place on the GT World Challenge Europe calendar since 2014, last season Weerts and team mate Van der Linde secured a podium in race one.

“Brands Hatch is definitely one of my favourite tracks of the year. It’s one of those old-school circuits where there’s zero room for mistakes. It’s also quite a tough track, especially as we have no testing there.

“So we go there and only get two practice sessions, which are usually quite short and often interrupted by red flags. You have to share that time between two drivers, so it always feels like a bit of a rush because the programme is so packed.”

Despite the intensity on track, the atmosphere at Brands Hatch remains a standout feature with a stadium esque first sector before heading out into the fast flowing forest section towards West Kingsdown.

“If something goes wrong at any point, it’s usually pretty much game over for the weekend. So it’s always very challenging, but also really rewarding when you manage to put everything together. The support you get there from the fans is incredible, and the atmosphere of the place is almost unmatched.

“Obviously, last year we weren’t particularly strong in terms of performance. We still managed to maximize our package and get a good result thanks to strong execution, but we were definitely a bit on the back foot compared to other manufacturers. Hopefully this year we can be a bit more competitive.”

Fighting for the Title Again

“I believe we have a fair chance to be in the fight for the championship again. But it’s no secret that our competitors haven’t stood still over the winter they’ve also made improvements.”

The increasing level of competition in GT World Challenge Europe over the past decade means there’s little margin for error. 

“As I say before every season, and it’s been the case since 2020, the level just keeps rising. You only have to look at the entry list to see how many strong line-ups and competitive cars there are. Beating them consistently is extremely tough.

“Because you simply have no room for any kind of mistake. You always have to be there, consistently scoring points, and hopefully by the end of the season, you have just one point more than everyone else.

“This year, our target is clear, it’s to get back our championship at the end of this year.”

The opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup begins this weekend, with practice and qualifying kicking off the action on Saturday, followed by two 60-minute sprint races on Sunday.