Van der Linde and Weerts Win GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with Valencia Triumph
Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia – Team WRT’s Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts clinched the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title after a decisive victory in the series finale at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The duo’s win in their #32 BMW M4 GT3 Evo not only secured them the championship but marked van der Linde’s first Sprint Cup title and Weerts’ record fourth championship.
Starting from fourth on the grid, van der Linde quickly engaged in the race for the lead against key competitors, including the pole-sitting #63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Jordan Pepper and the #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo driven by Marvin Kirchhöfer. Early in the race, an early Safety Car halted his advance but didn’t deter his aggressive pace once racing resumed.
After a calculated drive, van der Linde made his first significant move to overtake Kirchhöfer on lap nine, closing the gap to the lead. As the race progressed, both he and Pepper displayed blistering pace, the BMW chipping away at the Lamborghini’s lead until van der Linde retook the top spot just before the pit window closed.
Both teams executed flawless pit stops, but WRT managed a 1.3-second advantage during the exchange, allowing Weerts to take control of the race. Despite a late challenge from Luca Engstler, who reduced the gap to under one second in the final laps, Weerts maintained his composure, crossing the finish line 0.885 seconds ahead to secure the victory.
The McLaren, unable to match the leaders’ pace, finished third, 11 seconds adrift. In the Silver Cup, the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG driven by Aurelien Panis and Cesar Gazeau took top honors, finishing fourth overall.
In the Gold Cup, Emil Frey Racing’s #69 Ferrari, piloted by Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen, took the win, while the Bronze Cup saw victory for Bashar Mardini and Bastian Buus in the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche.
With the Sprint Cup season concluded, teams will now prepare for the upcoming GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, scheduled for October 10-12.
Key Results:
- Overall Winner: #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo (Van der Linde/Weerts)
- 2nd Place: #63 GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo (Pepper)
- 3rd Place: #59 Garage 59 McLaren GT3 Evo (Kirchhöfer/Goethe)
- Silver Cup Winner: #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo
- Gold Cup Winner: #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari
- Bronze Cup Winner: #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche
As the motorsport community looks forward to the endurance event, today’s results at Valencia underscore the competitive nature of the GT World Challenge Europe.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP.
