A packed weekend of international GT and endurance racing delivered last-lap passes, strategy shake-ups and breakthrough victories across GT World Challenge, IMSA, the European Le Mans Series, GT3 Legends and the Baltic Touring Car Championship. From Brands Hatch to Laguna Seca, Paul Ricard and Riga, the action featured decisive late moves, crash-repair-wins, and dominant weekend sweeps. Here’s your rundown of the biggest stories.

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup – Brands Hatch: Lionspeed GP takes Pro class by storm

Race 1

Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer (#50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3) inherited victory at Brands Hatch after post-race penalties reshuffled the order, promoting them from second to the win. Pole sitter Lionspeed GP started out strong but began to falter with power steering issues, losing the lead and eventually retiring after the pitstops.

Read the full Race 1 report here

Race 2

Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus (#80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R) bounced back to secure a dominant lights-to-flag victory, marking Lionspeed’s first-ever Pro win. The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 also found redemption, claiming second after having their Race 1 taken away.

Read the full Race 2 report here

GT World Challenge Asia – Mandalika: Phantom dominates in Indonesia

Race 1

Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai (#16 FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom Audi R8 LMS GT3) converted a well-timed Safety Car into victory in the Mandalika opener, executing a clean pit sequence to take control and lead home a Phantom 1–2. Andrés Pato and Jaxon Evans brought the sister #15 Audi R8 LMS GT3 home in second after charging from P8, while Sean Gelael completed the podium in the #50 Ferrari 296 GT3 after losing out during the pit cycle.

Race 2

Anthony Liu and Loek Hartog (#37 Phantom Global Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R) dominated Race 2 with a lights-to-flag victory to secure a perfect weekend for Phantom. Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti climbed from seventh to second in the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Andrés Pato and Jaxon Evans secured another podium in third with the #15 Audi R8 LMS GT3.

European Le Mans Series – 4 Hours of Le Castellet: United Autosports stands it ground in late clash for victory

Griffin Peebles, Grégoire Saucy and Ben Hanley (#22 United Autosports Oreca 07) secured victory in the ELMS at Paul Ricard, ending a near three-year wait for an LMP2 win after a late clash with the #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca while battling for the lead. Inter Europol Competition recovered to finish second, with the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 completing the overall podium.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – Laguna Seca: Heinrich snatches win with last-lap pass

Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm (#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963) grabbed victory with a dramatic last-lap pass, denying Cadillac after a strategy-driven race where fuel and tire management proved decisive. The #31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finished second, with the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 completing the overall podium.

In GTD Pro, Fred Vervisch and Christopher Mies (#65 Ford Mustang GT3) capitalised on rivals’ late fuel stops to take a strategic win, while in GTD, Trent Hindman and Danny Formal (#45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3) combined pace and execution to secure victory.

Read the full race report here

GT3 Legends – Donington Historic Festival: Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3s lead the way

Race 1

Jonathan Mitchell (#007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3) crossed the line first after a bold Safety Car pit stop gamble and a drive-through penalty, but a post-race one-lap penalty promoted Graham Davidson (#47 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3) to victory.

Read the full Race 1 report here

Race 2

Mitchell returned to win Race 2 on outright pace, controlling the race in the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to cap a strong Donington weekend.

Read the full Race 2 report here

Baltic Touring Car Championship – Riga Summer Race: Lamborghinis stumble and win

Flash Racing’s Artūrs Batraks and Sandis Zvidriņš (#69 Lamborghini Huracán GT3) fought back from earlier setbacks to win the two-hour endurance race at Biķernieki, inheriting the lead when Egidijus Gelūnas ran out of fuel on the penultimate lap in the #15 Čapkauskas Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST. Gelūnas still limped home second, with Audrius Piktys completing the podium in the #4 Baltic Karting Academy Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

Earlier, the sprint races shaped the day: Gelūnas took Race 1 despite an early red flag caused by Batraks crashing the #69 Lamborghini, while Race 2 saw another Lamborghini setback as Gelūnas spun out of the lead, handing victory to Romet Reisin in the #49 Porsche Cayman GT4.

Read the full report from the Riga Summer Race here

From the Archives: Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 tech analysis

Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3

With Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 machinery winning both GT3 Legends races at Donington Park, it’s the perfect moment to revisit our in-depth tech analysis of this iconic GT3 car. From its front-engined V12 powerhouse to its old-school, driver-friendly setup, the Vantage remains a fan favourite — especially for that unmistakable V12 soundtrack.

Up next: WEC, Italian GT and GT World Challenge Australia turn up for rounds 2

Next weekend brings another strong mix of international racing. The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to Spa-Francorchamps for its final competitive test before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while the Italian GT Championship begins its Endurance season at Misano following the Sprint opener at Imola two weeks ago. Elsewhere, GT World Challenge Australia heads to The Bend for its second round of the season.