• Dutch venue attracts biggest-ever grid for Sprin Cup return
• Bronze Cup boosts numbers with first Sprint appearance of 2025
• Fascinating title battles in prospect after ultra-competitive opener at Brands Hatch
ENTRY LIST: ZANDVOORT
A 41-car field will head to Zandvoort next weekend (16–18 May) for what promises to be a hugely competitive Sprint Cup event at the historic Dutch venue.
It follows the opening Sprint meeting at Brands Hatch (3/4 May), which produced two entirely different overall podiums and a pair of class winners in both the Gold Cup and Silver Cup. Zandvoort should be even more competitive, with the Bronze Cup contenders joining the grid after skipping the British round.
This brings the field to 41 cars, by far the most ever seen at the Dutch venue and only the third time in Sprint Cup history that the grid has exceeded 40. As ever they will contest a pair of 60-minute races, one each on Saturday (15:00) and Sunday (14:45). With no margin for error and plenty of overtaking opportunities, Zandvoort is all set to serve up a thriller.
PRO: No clear favourite after ultra-close opener
The Pro field is unchanged from Brands Hatch, with the same 11 crews set to resume battle. Winward Racing stole a narrow early lead in what looks set to be a multi-team battle for the overall Sprint Cup crown. Race 2 winners Maro Engel and Lucas Auer (#48 Mercedes-AMG) edged ahead of Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera (#51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari), who took the opening contest but failed to score in the second outing.
Ferrari is the best represented brand in Pro. AF Corse will field a second car for Thomas Neubauer and Arthur Leclerc, while Emil Frey Racing also brings a 296 GT3 for Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen. These two crews scored the same results at Brands Hatch, swapping between fourth and fifth-place finishes.
Garage 59 drivers Marvin Kirchhöfer and Benjamin Goethe were highly impressive at the opener, particularly in sealing the runner-up spot in Race 1. Team WRT bagged the same result in Race 2 thanks to a brilliant service from the #32 BMW pit crew and strong drives from Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde. Both squads could be serious victory contenders in the Netherlands.
Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller enjoyed a strong Race 2 showing at Brands Hatch, earning a third-place finish thanks to impressive work in the pits and on the circuit. Barwell Motorsport also began with a positive display on home soil as Sandy Mitchell and Hugo Cook earned a pair of top 10 results in the #78 Lamborghini.
Zandvoort presents an opportunity for the five remaining Pro crews to score their first points of the campaign. The #64 HRT Ford Performance and #63 Grasser Racing Lamborghini experienced troubled weekends at the British venue and will hope for a more straightforward outing. The #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin and #111 CSA Racing McLaren will also target a better return from the Dutch event.
GOLD & SILVER: Close class battles in prospect at Zandvoort
There is the very real prospect of a Dutch driver running at the front of the field this weekend. Thierry Vermeulen and Emil Frey Racing teammate Chris Lulham were not only the standout Gold Cup crew at Brands Hatch: they also bagged overall pole and a podium in Race 1. A repeat at Zandvoort is entirely possible given the Swiss squad’s past results at the track.
But the #69 Ferrari did not sweep the opener: AlManar Racing by Team WRT took Race 2 with Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann sharing the #777 BMW and should be a strong contender again at Zandvoort. Garage 59 was also on good form at its home event and has a very competitive driver pairing in Adam Smalley and Louis Prette. Tresor Attempto Racing scored a brace of P3 finishes at Brands Hatch, while fellow Audi squad Saintéloc Racing will be frustrated to have left the opener without a podium.
In the Silver Cup, Boutsen VDS duo Aurélien Panis and Cesar Gazeau lived up to their status as class favourites by winning Race 2 at Brands Hatch and taking an early lead in the title battle, while AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors clinched the other win thanks to Jef Machiels and Marcos Siebert (#52 Ferrari). The #92 Paradine Competition BMW should be popular among the home fans, with Dutch duo Maxime Oosten and Mex Jansen sharing the controls. Rutronik Racing also has a local driver in Loek Hartog, who shares the #97 Porsche with Eshan Pieris.
Audi duo Saintéloc Racing and Tresor Attempto Racing both earned a class podium at Brands Hatch. In contrast, the opener was challenging for Lamborghini squads Barwell Motorsport and Grasser Racing, though they can take confidence from the strong results posted by the Huracán during previous visits to Zandvoort. A diverse Silver Cup grid is completed by entries from Team WRT (BMW), Steller Motorsport (Corvette) and Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin).
BRONZE: Reigning champions return to face strong competition
The Bronze Cup joins the grid at Zandvoort with a 12-car field chasing class honours. Paradine Competition will defend the titles it won last year with an unchanged line-up of Darren Leung and Dan Harper sharing the #991 BMW; they will be tough to beat, but there are a host of strong rivals hoping to take their crown.
The chasing pack is led by last year's runners-up, Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall, who have switched to the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari. Ziggo Sport Tempesta will also field a 296 for Sprint newcomer Marco Pulcini and the experienced Eddie Cheever. The successful team is now backed by Ziggo Sport, a sports television channel which broadcasts GT World Challenge in the Netherlands, and is sure to attract plenty of fans at Zandvoort.
Tresor Attempto Racing will field the returning pairing of Andrey Mukovoz and Dylan Pereira aboard the #66 Audi, while Imperiale Racing has retained Dmitriy Gvazava and added Loris Spinelli to share its Lamborghini. CSA Racing will field a McLaren for Arthur Rougier and Isaac Tutumlu Lopez, while Comtoyou Racing has the Brazilian duo of Rafael Suzuki and Ricardo Baptista in its Aston Martin.
Having made its Endurance debut last term, Lionspeed GP joins the Sprint Cup grid with a pair of Porsche entries. Gabriel Rindone will share the #80 with 2023 Sprint champion Ricardo Feller, while Bashar Mardini and Bastian Buus take the control of the #89.
Given its success within the Pro ranks, Winward Racing should be a serious contender for Bronze Cup honours with Rinat Salikhov and Gabriele Piana sharing its Mercedes-AMG, while Saintéloc Racing will field its familiar Audi for Ghanim Salah Al-Maadheed and Ibrahim Al-Abdulghani. Grasser Racing completes the grid with a Lamborghini for series newcomer Georgi Donczew and Squadra Corse factory driver Christian Engelhart.
Plase click here to purchase tickets for the Zandvoort weekend.
TIMETABLE (CEST)
FRIDAY 16 MAY
Free Practice: 10:20-12:00
Pre-Qualifying: 15:10-16:10
SATURDAY 17 MAY
Qualifying 1: 10:00-10:10 LIVE TV
Race 1: 15:00–16:00 LIVE TV
SUNDAY 18 MAY
Qualifying 2: 09:00-09:10 LIVE TV
Race 2: 14:45–15:45 LIVE TV
ALSO RACING
• GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli (2x 60-minute races)
• GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club (2x 60-minute races)
• GB3 Championship (3x 25-minute races)
HOW TO WATCH
Extensive live coverage will be available on the GT World YouTube channel. This is free to view around the globe and includes start-to-finish action from every GT World Challenge race. Click here for more information.