Team WRT wins Zandvoort Sprint Race 2

SRO

May 19

Team WRT wins Race-2 at Zandvoort for the GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup with Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts. The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO crew celebrated both overall victory and pit challenge for the fastest pit stop ahead of Lorens Lecertua/Ivan Klymenko (Sainteloc Racing Audi #26), who won the Silver Cup, and the #63 GRT Lamborghini of Jordan Pepper/Luca Engstler.

Two Ferrari lead first part of the race

The two Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3s that started from the front row with Ben Green and Chris Lulham (Gold Cup) managed the start, holding off the #63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Jordan Pepper. The South African was able to start from the second row thanks to the decision of the race direction, which validated a lap that had originally been cancelled during Q2.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Zandvoort 2025. Race 2 start at Turn 2

Green controlled the lead throughout the opening stint, trying to extend his lead as much as possible over his rivals to make up for a 10″ penalty for false starts, a measure also assigned to Lulham and the #24 Steller Motorsport Corvette of Jesse Salmenautio (Silver Cup).

Team WRT turn around

Kelvin van der Linde started from P9, ending his stint in P6. The next mandatory stop saw Charles Weerts’ #32 Team WRT BMW take the lead thanks to a perfect timing and pit stop excellence by WRT mechanics who earned a new Pitstop Challenge win thanks to the fastest stop across both races. Weerts kept the lead until the end increasing the gap with competition to 12.429 second when crossing checkered flag.

BMW M4 GT3 #32 — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Zandvoort 2025. Kelvin van der Linde with #32 Team WRT BMW

First win in the Sprint Cup for Kelvin van der Linde/Charles Weerts after their win in the opening Endurance round at Le Castellet last month. With 22,5 points earned during the weekend, van der Linde and Weerts take the lead of the GT WORLD Challenge Europe Powered By AWS Sprint Cup Drivers and Team WRT takes the lead of the GT WORLD Challenge Europe Powered By AWS Sprint Cup Teams.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Zandvoort 2025. Charles Weerts in #32 Team WRT BMW on road to victory.

Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: “Another really positive weekend. Even without the outright pace, we delivered when it mattered most. Once again, the team made a huge difference in the pit lane, I’m super proud of them. That’s going to be the key to our success this year, especially while we’re still chasing more performance in qualifying. At the end of the day, execution is everything, and right now, we’re getting that right!”

Charles WEERTS, driver #32: “It was a tricky weekend with no real pace, but we executed both races perfectly. The guys nailed the pit stops again, and thanks to that, we ended up in strong positions: P5 yesterday and a win today. We’re now leading the championship, that’s mega! Huge thanks to WRT, BMW, and Kelvin for the great work.” Source: Team WRT

Audi and Lamborghini earn podium.

Ivan Klymenko, driving the #25 Sainteloc Racing Audi, was second after the pit stop ahead of Luca Engstler’s #63 Lamborghini and Marvin Kirchhöfer’s #59 McLaren, who finished in that order.

Lecertua and Klymenko win the Silver Cup with the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi.

P5 for Rutronik Racing’s #96 Porsche

Rounding out the top five (thanks to #48 Winward Racing penalty) was Rutronik Racing’s #96 Porsche with yesterday’s race 1 winner Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller. Both Rutronik Racing and the duo Niederhauser-Müller are now second in the GT WORLD Challenge Europe Powered By AWS Sprint Cup Teams and Drivers respectively.

Patric Niederhauser, driver #96: ‘It was a very, very successful weekend for us! The victory on Saturday was the absolute highlight! I was extremely happy that we won at Zandvoort. After a rather difficult Friday, we were able to turn things around and strike back in qualifying on Saturday morning. The team made the right moves overnight and got the car perfect for qualifying, which was crucial.’ Source: Rutronik Racing

Three Silver Cup and Two PRO cup in next five.

Sixth overall and second in the Silver Cup is the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Ezequiel Pérez Companc and Alex Aka, holding off Mex Jensen-Maxime Oosten (Paradine Competition BMW #992) in P7 and third Silver Cup. Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels in #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO end eight overall and fourth in Silver Cup.

Both Pro Cup Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO are ninth with Lucas Auer, Maro Engel in #48 Winward Racing (they finished fifth at checkered flag, but a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane dropped them to ninth) ahead of Luca Stolz, Maxime Martin in Boutsen VDS #9.