The battle for Sprint Cup glory has taken plenty of twists and turns in the past few weeks, with events at Misano and Magny-Cours running in close quarters. The overall title looked almost settled after the Italian event, yet it was blown wide open in France. With more than a month until the next Sprint round at Zandvoort, here's a look back at the key storylines.
___________________________________________________
IT'S BEEN FEAST AND FAMINE FOR TEAM WRT
Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde could hardly have experienced two more different weekends than Misano and Magny-Cours. The #32 Team WRT BMW dominated in Italy, sweeping both races and building a healthy championship advantage, but it was a very different story in France. It began with Weerts qualifying P17 for Race 1, after which the team was happy to salvage a P7 finish.
Their luck seemed to have turned when Van der Linde qualified on pole for Race 2, only for the car to lose all of its laps for a breach of the technical rules - specifically, exceeding the prescribed boost limit.
The South African fought back through the pack but retired after a clash with the #93 Porsche. Before this, Van der Linde spun the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Ben Green, which has earned him a five-place grid penalty for Zandvoort. The upshot is that the defending champions still lead the standings, but by a vastly diminished 2.5 points. They remain title favourites, but their chances of wrapping things up in the Netherlands are all but gone.
___________________________________________________
VERSTAPPEN RACING IS A TITLE CONTENDER
Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing has been a victory contender since launching its Pro effort this year, and the breakthrough came in Race 1 at Magny-Cours. The car had already taken pole at Misano, finishing as runner-up, so the pace was evident. Jules Gounon bagged another pole at Magny-Cours, where he produced a dominant drive alongside Dani Juncadella.
These results elevated Juncadella to a title threat – he’s alone in the fight, having shared with two different teammates – with the Spaniard now just five off top spot. Verstappen himself was quick to offer his congratulations afterwards: "So proud. Well done everyone,” wrote Max, while his dad Jos Verstapen and mum Sophie Kumpen also paid tribute.
Could this win lead to a title challenge? Don't rule it out. The #3 Mercedes-AMG has the best qualifying average across the first six Sprint races, though it has not always been at the front on pit stop times. In this respect WRT will be tough to beat, but the fight is definitely on.
___________________________________________________
LIONSPEED IS BACK IN THE TITLE HUNT
Back-to-back finishes outside the points at Misano and Magny-Cours seemed to have scuppered Lionspeed GP's title aspirations. But Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus were firmly back in the hunt after winning Race 2 in France, with their chances bolstered by difficult days for Team WRT mad Winward Racing.
There’s no doubting this team’s speed, nor the quality of its pit stops (they were fastest of all in Race 2 at Magny-Cours). If they can score consistently, the title is definitely up for grabs. Buus will also want to improve his qualifying pace, having struggled to match the pole he took at Brands Hatch in recent events.
Who else is in the title fight? Realistically, it’s now between five crews. We’ve already mentioned WRT, Verstappen and Lionspeed, who make up the top three; the others are AF Corse duo Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer, and Winward Racing’s Maro Engel and Lucas Auer. The leading contenders are separated by less than 10 points with four races left to run.
___________________________________________________
KOBE PAUWELS IS PROVING HIS TALENT
Kobe Pauwels showed what he was capable of by winning last year's Sprint Cup title in the Silver class. Now driving a Pro car for Comtoyou Racing, the young Belgian is emerging as a real star. He qualified P3 for Race 2 at Misano and might have scored a maiden podium were it not for a technical issue.
Another strong quali performance followed with P6 for Race 1 at Magny-Cours, where he showed his racecraft with a brilliant move on Max Hesse. Nicki Thiim ultimately brought the car home in P2, securing Pauwels his first-ever overall podium. With the performance of the #7 Aston Martin seeming to improve with each Sprint weekend, Pauwels and Thiim can target a maiden win at Zandvoort.
___________________________________________________
AF CORSE LOOKS SOLID IN GOLD
They didn’t win a race at Misano or Magny-Cours, but the AF Corse pairing of Tommaso Mosca and Matias Zagazeta did a lot to bolster their title challenge.
The #51 Ferrari duo finished three out of four races on the class podium and now hold a 15-point lead. Mosca is living up to his status as a factory driver, while GT rookie Zagazeta hasn’t put a foot wrong. With the might of AF behind them, they’ll be tough to topple across the final two rounds.
___________________________________________________
TRESOR ATTEMPTO WAS ON FIRE AT MISANO
We previously described Team WRT as experiencing a "feast or famine" run of races, and the same could be applied to Tresor Attempto's season in the Gold Cup. The #99 Audi did not finish either race at Brands Hatch, then swept the Misano weekend thanks to a brilliant showing from Dylan Pereira and Alex Aka. This made them the obvious challengers to Mosca and Zagazeta, but Magny-Cours did not go to plan, particularly with the car starting from the rear of the field on Sunday.
The outcome is that, despite being the only Gold Cup crew with multiple wins on the board, they are fifth in the standings and more 20 points adrift of AF Corse. It will take another clean sweep at Zandvoort to reignite their title tilt.
___________________________________________________
THE CHAMPAGNE IS ON ICE FOR MATISSE AND NACHO
If you're looking for a close title fight, you won't find it in the Silver Cup. A stellar run at Misano and Magny-Cours has put Matisse Lismont and Ignacio "Nacho" Montenegro way out front, with an early celebration at Zandvoort more likely than not.
The #30 Team WRT BMW has taken three wins from the past four races – one at Misano and two at Magny-Cours – as well as a sensational P2 overall finish at the French track. Their advantage is 37 points; if they maintain the gap across the Zandvoort weekend, they will be champions.
The only other winner from the past four races was GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros, which took Misano Race 2 with its #6 Mercedes-AMG. Aurélien Panis and Anthony Bartone sit third in the standings, with the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin of Jamie Day and Mateo Villagomez 3.5 points ahead. As it stands, they're battling for runner-up with the champions almost home and dry.
___________________________________________________
THE BRONZE CUP IS UP AND RUNNING
The Bronze Cup did not begin its Sprint campaign until Misano, so the past two rounds represent the entirety of its season. Thus far, it's been a happy hunting ground for Mercedes-AMG. Winward duo Rinat Salikhov and Marvin Dienst lead the way after taking wins at both tracks, though their dominance was halted by a penalty in Race 2 at Magny-Cours.
Nevertheless, this crew has looked to be the strongest across the opening four races and leads the standings by eight points. Next up is the #222 2Seas Mercedes-AMG of Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss, who have been very fast but incurred a few costly penalties.
Gabriel Rindone and Fabian Schiller (GetSpeed Team Dubai) scored the opening victory with their Mercedes-AMG, while Darren Leung and Augusto Farfus (Paradine Competition BMW) are the only winners from outside the AMG camp.
What about defending champions Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall? It's not exactly gone to plan for the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari duo. They were third in the opening race but haven't been back on the podium since; worst of all, Blattner suffered a frightening crash at Magny-Cours, for which Winward received its aforementioned penalty. They are 24 points off the top and face an uphill battle to retain their crown.
___________________________________________________
GT World Challenge powered by AWS now takes a four-week summer break before returning to action with an Endurance Cup race at the Nürburgring on 28–30 August. The next appointment on the Sprint Cup calendar will take place at Zandvoort, which welcomes the series for another pair of 60-minute races on 18–20 September. For tickets and more information, please click here.