• Grasser Racing drivers make it seven winners from seven races in #63 Lamborghini
• Prette and Fleming fly to Gold Cup glory for Garage 59
• Second straight win elevates Comtoyou Racing duo Day and Pauwels to Silver Cup lead
• Mardini and Buus grab Bronze Cup advantage with victory for Lionspeed GP
RESULT: Magny-Cours Race 1
Grasser Racing has become the seventh different winner from as many Sprint Cup races by triumphing in Saturday's sunset contest at Magny-Cours.
Five weeks after conquering the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the #63 Lamborghini of Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper grabbed a first Sprint victory of 2025 thanks to stellar showings from both drivers. They led a top eight featuring seven different manufacturers, while significant results across the classes saw the lead change hands in both the Silver Cup and the Bronze Cup standings.
The Lamborghini started from pole with Engstler at the wheel and held its position ahead of the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche through the fast opening sequence of corners. One of the main contenders for victory was eliminated on lap 1 when the #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari was turned around at the Adelaide hairpin, an incident that would ultimately result in a drive-through penalty for the #111 CSA Racing McLaren.
The race was neutralised on the second tour following a multi-car crash at the same hairpin. When the action resumed Engstler was able to build a small gap over Patric Niederhauser in the #96 Porsche, with a little more than two seconds between the pair when the pit window opened. They stopped together, setting up a duel between the Grasser crew and their rivals at Rutronik. A small delay on the Lamborghini's front-left tyre proved vital, allowing Sven Müller to pull away marginally ahead of Pepper.
There have been many Sprint Cup races settled in this manner, but Pepper was intent on a different outcome. The South African quickly pulled on to the rear of the Porsche and could have launched a move into Chateau d'Eau, only to back out at the last moment. Müller was given a chance to regroup when a full-course yellow was implemented to remove a stricken McLaren, but when green flag conditions resumed Pepper was all over him once again.
Indeed, on this occasion the Lamborghini was simply too fast for the Porsche. Pepper got another run on the approach to Chateau d'Eau and was able to make this move stick. With the sun setting and darkness falling over Magny-Cours, it was the Lamborghini's headlights that led the way for the remainder of the race. Pepper crossed the line a little over a second clear of Müller, giving Grasser Racing its first Sprint Cup win since 2018.
The #32 Team WRT BMW completed the podium by undercutting its rivals during the pit window. Charles Weerts stopped as early as possible to hand over to Kelvin Van der Linde, whose out-lap pace vaulted the BMW ahead of four cars. Crucially, this quartet included its main title rival, the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, which came home fourth after an eventful outing for Lucas Auer and Maro Engel. The #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG completed the top five, scoring its best result of the season.
Sixth overall went to the #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Louis Prette and Tom Fleming, who bagged their second Gold Cup win from the past three races. Fleming was especially eye-catching during the opening stint, helping his team to win from the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi. Chris Lulham started from class pole in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari but was an innocent victim of the opening lap clash at the Adelaide hairpin and dropped to the rear of the order.
The Silver Cup winner was next across the line. Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels grabbed victory and have now won back-to-back races in the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin, elevating them to the top of the class standings. The #52 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors Ferrari was second, giving Marcos Siebert and Jef Machiels their first podium since the season-opening race, with the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG taking third. Tresor Attempto Racing lost its place at the top of the standings after the #99 Audi was eliminated by a spinning car on lap 2.
The Bronze Cup also has a new points leader. Bashar Mardini and Bastian Buus won their second race of 2025 in the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche, fending off late pressure from the #991 Paradine Competition BMW to seal the victory. This moves the German squad above the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari crew of Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall, who fought back to finish fifth after starting from the very back of the grid.
Teams and drivers have little time to process Saturday's race, with cars due back on track at 10:30 CEST for Qualifying 2. This will set the grid for the weekend's second 60-minute contest, which gets underway at 15:15. Live coverage of both sessions can be watched on the GT World YouTube channel.
