FIVE TITLES FOR TEAM WRT AS 2025 GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE CONCLUDES IN BARCELONA

Barcelona, Spain - October 12th, 2025 - Team WRT closed its GT World Challenge Europe season this weekend in Barcelona on a high, with a resounding five titles in the championships’ standings. Despite a challenging race pace and a grid penalty, the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO secured the Overall (Endurance and Sprint Cups) Drivers’ (with Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts) and Teams’ titles by finishing P6, adding to the Sprint Drivers’ and Teams’ championships, as well as the Gold Cup Overall Teams’ title with AlManar Racing Team WRT, clinched at Valencia three weeks ago. Elsewhere, the #777 entry delivered a standout run to P2 in the final race result, while the #30 had a more troubled outing marred by technical issues.

October 12, 2025

RACE HIGHLIGHTS

Penalised 10 grid places beforehand for improvement on yellow conditions during the qualifying, the #32 started from P31 overall. Early in the race, during a Safety Car window before the end of the first hour, most leaders stayed on track, but Team WRT dived into the pit lane and gained track position. They ultimately rose to P6, ahead of their championship rivals to secure the Overall Drivers’ and Teams’ titles.
From P17, the Gold Cup entry ran a strong, clean race. Mirroring the #32’s timing under the Safety Car, #777 advanced through the field to finish P2 overall, a superb result to close a successful campaign on a high.
The Silver Cup entered BMW had a difficult start: a gearbox issue during the formation lap forced them to start from the rear. Later, contact with a Mercedes damaged the car, sending Lismont into the pits. Stadsbader rejoined but was down 13 laps, ending the campaign with a hard-fought drive under adversity.

COMBINED QUALIFYING RESULTS.pdf

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RACE RESULTS.pdf

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FIGURES

Number of cars on the grid: 60 (17 Pro, 8 Gold, 19 Silver, 16 Bronze)
Manufacturers: 10
Number of WRT cars: 3 (#30 in Silver, #32 in Pro, #777 in Gold)
91 laps in total for winner

FACTS

Qualifying 1:

Car #30: P41 overall, P13 in class (Etienne Cheli)

Car #32: P7 overall, P5 in class (Kelvin van der Linde)

Car #777: P23 overall, P4 in class (Jens Klingmann)

Qualifying 2:

Car #30: P40 overall, P10 in class (Gilles Stadsbader)

Car #32: P36 overall, P15 in class (Charles Weerts)

Car #777: P10 overall, P3 in class (Ben Tuck)

Qualifying 3:

Car #30: P38 overall, P11 in class (Matisse Lismont)

Car #32: P37 overall, P12 in class (Ugo de Wilde)

Car #777: P34 overall, P5 in class (Al Faisal Al Zubair)

Combined Qualifying:

Car #30: P39 overall, P11 in class

Car #32: P21 overall, P12 in class

Car #777: P17 overall, P5 in class

Starting drivers:

#30: Etienne Cheli, starting P39 overall

#32: Charles Weerts, starting P31 overall (due to penalty)

#777: Al Faisal Al Zubair, starting P16 overall

Race – 1^st hour:

Clean start from #32 and #777
#30 stuck on its grid spot – gearbox issue
Safety car – incident at the start
FCY – cars collide in T5
SC following the FCY
#777 Driver change to Tuck
#32 Driver change to de Wilde
#30 Driver change to Lismont

End of 1^st hour: #777 in P7 (P3 in class), #32 in P10, #30 in P36 (P11 in class)

Race – 2^nd hour:

FCY – car in gravel
FCY - #30 stopped on track – anti-stall issue due to a contact
FCY – car stopped on track
#777 Driver change to Klingmann
#32 Driver change to van der Linde
SC – following the FCY

End of 2^nd hour: #777 in P2 (P2 in class), #32 in P9, #30 P54 (P17 in class)

Race - 3rd hour:

#30 Driver change to Stadsbader

End of 3rd hour: #32 in P6, #777 in P2 (P2 in class), #30 in P50 (P17 in class)

RACE RESULTS

OVERALL

1/ Macdonald – Prette – Smalley (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO) 91 laps

2/ Al Zubair - Klingmann - Tuck (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 18.571s

3/ Farfus - Krohn – Marciello (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 19.277s

4/ Donno – Fuoco – Leclerc (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 20.568s

5/ Aka – Moncini – Ogaard (Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II) + 21.881s

6/ de Wilde - van der Linde - Weerts (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 26.822s

GOLD

1/ Macdonald – Prette – Smalley (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO) 91 laps

2/ Al Zubair - Klingmann - Tuck (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 18.571s

3/ King - Lulham - Vermeulen (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO) + 32.511s

4/ Barr – Buncombe – Foster (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO) + 1.06.450s

5/ Gachet - Kell - Rougier (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO) + 1.27.509s

SILVER

1/ Aka – Moncini – Ogaard (Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II) 91 laps

2/ Kalender – Sathientirakul – Walker (Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO) + 36.512s

3/ Cabirou - Gazeau – Panis (Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO) + 40.905s

4/ Gold – Klymenko – Lecertua (Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II) + 42.055s

5/ Jansen - Moore - Waberski (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 43.577s

17/ Cheli – Lismont - Stadsbader (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) + 13 laps

Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal Team WRT:"I’m incredibly happy that we were able to finish the season like this. Winning the overall titles was the big goal after the Sprint Cup titles. It didn’t look like it after qualifying, but huge thanks to the team for the spot-on strategic call in the first stint, which brought us forward. Congratulations to the #777 crew for their podium and the team overall title in the Gold Cup. I really want to sincerely thank everyone in the team whose hard work made such a successful season possible."

Matisse LISMONT, driver #30: “It wasn’t easy from the start, but we found something for qualifying that worked quite well. Unfortunately, we were unlucky in the race. First, Etienne wasn’t able to start from the grid, and later, while fighting for position, I got hit on the left rear, which tinterfered with the clutch and left me unable to shift gears. We had to fix the issue, and that cost us 13 laps. Not the best way to end the season, but we take the positives, and we’ll come back stronger next year!”

Ugo DE WILDE, driver #32: “We can be really happy with today’s race seeing where we’ve started. We were not expecting to grab P6. I’m super happy for the team who clinched the overall drivers’ and teams’ classification. I’m happy to have contributed to that title. Overall, I think it was a very educational year for me. I’m super grateful for this opportunity to race in such a high-level team and with such high-level teammates. I learned a lot. I think we had some setbacks in endurance unfortunately, but we have grown a lot as a team, and my teammates deserve to be overall champions. I can’t wait to race next year with all the stuff I learned. Thanks to my teammates, WRT and BMW for this great first season together!”

Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: "It has been a fantastic season, crowned with the Overall Championship. Of course, our race pace today wasn’t particularly strong. We need to learn from this during the break to improve for next year. But looking at the entire season, we were probably the most consistent team, and that’s the reward. I’m very proud of the entire Team WRT, Charles, and Ugo. It’s the perfect conclusion to my first GT World Challenge season with BMW M Motorsport. I’m very proud."

Charles WEERTS, driver #32: "It was a very good season. Sprint Cup winners, third in the Endurance Cup, and Overall Champions, that’s everything we could have wished for at the start of the year. We made almost no mistakes and got the best out of every situation. The only regret is Spa, as it’s the biggest race, and we could have put ourselves in an even better position for the Endurance Cup there. But overall, we can be very proud of the season. A big thank you to BMW M Motorsport for providing us with an incredibly strong car. Thanks also to Team WRT, Kelvin, and Ugo for a great season we shared together."

Al Faisal AL ZUBAIR, driver #777: “Amazing day! Our first ever overall podium in GT World Endurance! To wrap up the final round with P2 overall, and second in class, is just incredible. I’m extremely happy and proud of what we’ve achieved. What a way to close out an amazing season! Full respect to the Verstappen team. They truly earned it this year. Massive thanks to my team for the mega job all season long, and to my teammates for their great work. Hopefully, we’ll be back for more next year!"

Jens KLINGMANN, driver #777: "What an incredible race! At the start of the weekend, we didn’t feel like we had the fastest car, so we focused on long-run performance with the setup. During the race, a brilliant strategic decision in the first stint moved us far forward, and Ben was even able to work his way almost to the front. For me, it got tight at the end due to the last safety car, but I’m super happy with second place and winning the teams’ overall title in the Gold Cup. Once again, we’ve shown what can be achieved through perfect teamwork."

Ben TUCK, driver #777: “Going into the weekend, when we saw the timings in practice, we knew it could be a tough one. But from the start, our focus was on teamwork and maximising our long-run pace as we knew qualifying would be difficult. We saw it, even though we were the best BMW, we were only P16 overall. In the race, thanks to an amazing strategy and a great long run pace, we turned things around. Finishing P2 overall and in Gold Cup is just incredible. A huge thank you to my crew for their fantastic work. I’m super proud and happy to be part of this team!”