This year marks the 10th annual Festival de la Velocidad (Festival of Speed) at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The event debuted in 2016 and has remained an annual fixture ever since, always running within a two-week window between the end of September and the middle of October. As such it is a cornerstone of the GT World Challenge powered by AWS calendar, something that teams and fans can plan for well in advance.
While the date has been consistent, there has been variety in terms of the on-track product. Thus far, Barcelona has hosted the Endurance Cup on six occasions, while the Sprint Cup has visited three times. In this respect, no other venue has been quite so versatile.
The inaugural event was the deciding round of the 2016 Sprint campaign; it also brought the curtain down on the season as a whole, something that has become very familiar. Barcelona has staged the overall finale on six occasions and will do so again this year. What's more, in its 10 years on the calendar, the circuit has always closed either the Sprint or Endurance campaign.
The 2016 event saw Enzo Ide clinch the title after the Team WRT driver and his stand-in teammate Robin Frijns won the Qualifying Race. The Main Race went to AKKA ASP duo Felix Rosenqvist and Tristan Vautier, who gave the French squad the first of many victories with Mercedes-AMG. Indeed, Jerome Policand's crew would come to be very fond of Barcelona…
In 2017 the track switched to the Endurance Cup calendar for the first time and remained the closing round of the year. It produced a popular winner as Barcelona's own Dani Juncadella triumphed for AKKA ASP, sharing the victorious Mercedes-AMG with Vautier and Felix Serralles. It was a close finish, with Frijns hot on Vautier's heels throughout the final lap; the gap at the chequered flag was just 0.7 seconds, making it one of the closest finishes in Endurance Cup history.
The 2018 race was a head-to-head between two Mercedes-AMG squads, with Black Falcon and AKKA ASP fighting over not only the win but the Endurance Cup title. The former edged this heavyweight duel, which saw Maro Engel, Luca Stolz and Yelmer Burmaan take the crown. By this point Barcelona had staged four races, three of which had been won by the AMG brand.
The following year brought a new winner, not to mention a truly memorable Endurance Cup title decider. FFF Racing began the final day 24 points behind the leading SMP Racing crew. The Lamborghini squad would need to win while hoping the SMP Ferrari did not score at all – and that is exactly what happened! With local star Albert Costa joining Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli on the driver line-up, this win was as popular as it was dramatic.
The 2020 season was unusual in many respects. The challenges presented by the Covid pandemic required several changes to the calendar, the most significant being the delay of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa to October. The Barcelona round retained its usual place, though it was switched back to the Sprint schedule and featured three races instead of the usual two.
The weekend brought another home win for Costa, this time driving for Emil Frey Racing. The margin of victory over the sister Lamborghini was just 0.107 seconds, the closest finish in the history of the Sprint Cup. Despite the Emil Frey squad’s efforts, it was Team WRT duo Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts who narrowly clinched their maiden title.
For the next three years the event returned to the Endurance Cup calendar. In 2021 the win yet again went to AKKA ASP, while Mercedes-AMG confirmed its Barcelona prowess by sweeping all three classes. Victory for the #88 crew of Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon, Felipe Fraga gave the brand its first overall Endurance Cup win since Black Falcon triumphed at the same venue in 2018.
A new winner emerged in 2022 as Dinamic GT broke through with its Porsche. There were still celebrations at Akkodis ASP (the new name adopted in place of AKKA) as the French outfit wrapped up the Endurance Cup title, with Barcelona native Juncadella once again among the drivers. AF Corse claimed a one-two finish in 2023, though the GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG crossed the line first before a penalty pegged the car back. Notably, this marked the first outright win for the new Ferrari 296 GT3.
In 2024 the race was back on the Sprint Cup calendar. The title was decided in the very last race of the season as Winward Racing pairing Maro Engel and Lucas Auer did just enough to clinch the crown – marking yet another fine day for Mercedes-AMG at Barcelona – while Rutronik Racing gave Porsche its first-ever Sprint Cup win. Both teams will have high hopes for this weekend, too.
Ahead of the 10th edition, there have been a total of 12 races at Barcelona. Mercedes-AMG has been the best-performing brand, scoring three Endurance wins and two in Sprint; Lamborghini and Porsche have one victory in each series; Audi has taken two Sprint wins; and Ferrari has one Endurance triumph to its name.
This year's event will bring the curtain down on another highly competitive Endurance campaign, with three heavyweight squads in the running for the title. The Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter entry heads into the weekend with a five-point advantage at the top of the standings, and with past Barcelona winner Engel among its drivers.
They are the favourites to lift the crown, but there is still pressure from Rutronik Racing – which can draw on last year's success – and recently crowned Sprint Cup champion Team WRT. There are also class titles to be settled in the Gold Cup, Silver Cup and Bronze Cup, each of which has gone down to the final three-hour race.
In addition to the on-track action, there will be plenty more for fans to see and do at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The annual Ultracars & Legends display will give the public a chance to take a look at some incredible machines. With futuristic designs and mind-blowing horsepower, these cars are sure to turn heads in the Barcelona paddock and when they run laps on Saturday evening.
While they are making a noise on the track, a pit walk (beginning at 18:40) will allow fans to take a stroll down the pit lane and watch as the teams undertake pit stop practice. There will also be an autograph session in the paddock at 11:30 on Sunday.
In terms of on-track support action, the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club and the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli will each wrap up their seasons with a pair of races, while Lamborghini Super Trofeo stages its penultimate event of 2025 and its fifth alongside GT World Challenge.
For more information and to get your tickets for the 10th Festival de la Velocidad, please click here.