GRT Lamborghini Victorious in Magny-Cours Race 1

Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper became the seventh different winners from seven GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup races this season as they defeated Rutronik Racing to come out on top in Race 1 at Magny-Cours.

Pepper took the No. 63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 across the line with a margin of 1.243 seconds over the No. 96 Porsche 911 GT3 R at the end of a race-long battle.

The Lamborghini started the race from pole position with Engstler at the wheel, leading into the pitstop window, where Rutronik captured first place when Mueller leapfrogged the newly installed Pepper when both cars pitted simultaneously.

However, the South African immediately pressured the leading Porsche, using a Full Course Yellow restart with twelve minutes to go to fight past Mueller and move the No. 63 Lamborghini back into the race lead.

By taking victory, Engstler and Pepper became the seventh different winning crew this year, with no team in Sprint Cup having taken a repeat overall victory so far this season.

Additionally, the pairing ended a Sprint Cup win drought for Lamborghini that dates back to Zandvoort 2021, when Albert Costa and Norbert Siedler won for Emil Frey Racing.

Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde completed the overall podium in the No. 32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO ahead of the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo driven by Lucas Auer and Maro Engel.

Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin rounded out the top five for Boutsen VDS, one spot ahead of the No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo that won Gold Cup in the hands of Thomas Fleming and Louis Prette.

Fleming and Prette stormed to their second class victory of the season, taking full advantage of a lap one clash between CSA Racing’s Jim Pla and the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Alessio Rovera, which also affected Emil Frey Racing driver and Gold Cup rival Thierry Vermeulen.

Vermeulen’s No. 69 Ferrari became caught up and stuck behind Rovera’s car after it had been spun round by Pla, causing the Dutchman to lose significant ground as the pack moved past him.

Rovera’s No. 51 Ferrari eventually retired while the No. 111 CSA McLaren received a drivethrough penalty for the incident.

CSA’s second McLaren was eliminated in a late-race incident that led to a Full Course Yellow when a clash with Darren Leung’s No. 991 Paradine Competition BMW put the No. 112 machine in the wall with Isaac Tutumlu Lopez at the wheel.

Kobe Pauwels and Jamie Day picked up the Silver Cup victory by finishing seventh overall in their No. 21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen finished eighth in the No. 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, with the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari and No. 59 Garage 59 McLaren coming home in ninth and tenth overall.

Bastian Buus and Bashar Mardini took the Bronze Cup class victory in 26th overall, with the Lionspeed GP pairing capturing their second win of the season aboard the No. 89 Porsche.

RESULTS: Race 1