GT World Challenge powered by AWS made its annual visit to Brands Hatch last weekend for the traditional Sprint Cup season opener. As has so often been the case over the years, the event brought sunshine and a very healthy crowd to the Kent circuit. Sunday morning’s pit walk was especially busy, with large numbers of fans gathered around each garage, taking the opportunity to grab autographs and selfies with the drivers.
On the track, the spectators were treated to more variety than ever before. The grid featured 10 different brands, the most ever seen at a Sprint Cup event, while Brands Hatch drew its biggest field since 2017. The racing was ultra-close too, which bodes well for a highly competitive season. This is the Final Word on the 2025 Sprint Cup opener.
a formula 1 driver adjusts his helmet in front of a race car
AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors began the season with overall victory thanks to the #51 Ferrari pairing of Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera. An extra lap at the end of the first stint and a strong pit stop made the crucial difference for the Italian squad. This was the sixth win for Ferrari in Sprint, half of which have come courtesy of AF Corse.
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Abril secured his first Sprint Cup triumph since the series visited the Hungaroring in 2019, while Rovera won his very first race. The last driver to achieve this was Thomas Neubauer at Brands Hatch in 2019. Lucas Auer won on his debut weekend last season, though the Austrian’s victory came in Race 2.
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Speaking of Auer, he and teammate Maro Engel appear fully motivated to secure back-to-back Sprint Cup titles. They took the #48 Mercedes-AMG to a flawless victory in Race 2, ensuring that they and Winward Racing enjoy a narrow lead in both the teams’ and drivers’ standings.
Garage 59 appears closer than ever to returning McLaren to the top step of the podium after finishing a close second in Race 1. Marvin Kirchhöfer and Benjamin Goethe both looked quick and aggressive, the latter making a decisive move around the outside of Druids to secure runner-up spot.
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Team WRT delivered typically impressive pit stops at Brands Hatch. Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde were frustrated by a lack of pace in Qualifying but seized upon a mega stop in Race 2 to secure a runner-up finish. The #32 BMW will enjoy better days in 2025, so the points scored at Brands Hatch should prove crucial.
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Another team that showed impressive speed in the pits was Rutronik Racing. The #96 Porsche completed the second-best stop in Race 2, helping Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller on their way to a P3 finish. Across the board, the Rutronik squad has progressed significantly since making its Sprint Cup debut at Brands Hatch last season.
Emil Frey Racing led the opening stint of Race 1 thanks to pole-sitter Thierry Vermeulen, who looked very comfortable at the wheel of the #69 Ferrari. This was impressive, though not a shock given the speed that both driver and team have shown over the past two seasons. A slightly slower pit stop compared with AF Corse ultimately cost Vermeulen and teammate Chris Lulham the win.
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Lulham was the revelation of the weekend. The esports ace is making a huge step up this season, but he looked entirely at home when racing the likes of Maro Engel, Vincent Abril and Sandy Mitchell. He also qualified second overall for Race 2, just 0.027s shy of defending champion Engel.
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Brands Hatch made it clear that the Sprint Cup will be intensely competitive this season. For the first time since the series began visiting the track in 2014, six different crews scored an overall podium across the two races. The battle for class honours also looks set to be fierce this term.
In addition to an overall podium, Emil Frey Racing scored a commanding Race 1 victory in the Gold Cup. The car ran second overall and led its class again in Race 2 but slipped back after a delayed pit stop.
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In contrast, the #777 AlManar by Team WRT BMW received a lightning-fast service to vault into the class lead. Indeed, with a time of 40.667 seconds between pit-in and pit-out, this was the best stop of the weekend. It was not quite enough to secure victory in the Pit Stop Challenge, with the sister #32 Team WRT BMW crew delivering a better combined time across the two races.
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AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors took the opening Silver Cup win with its #52 Ferrari. Though he has scored several class podiums, this was Jef Machiels’ maiden series win. Marcos Siebert bagged victory on debut and looked strong from the start, running close to the overall top 10 during his stint.
Rutronik Racing won the opening race on the road but was pegged back by a pit infringement penalty. Nevertheless, its drivers can be pleased with their performances. Loek Hartog made a superb start and ran towards the front of the overall order, while Eshan Pieris did well to maintain the lead on what was his first-ever visit to Brands Hatch.
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Silver Cup title favourite Boutsen VDS won Race 2 thanks to Aurélien Panis and Cesar Gazeau. The #10 Mercedes-AMG completed the third-fastest pit stop in Race 2 before Panis fought off fellow Silver Cup veteran Ezequiel Perez Companc (#99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi) during the closing stages.
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Thierry Vermeulen and Maro Engel both earned a Rowe Pole Award in Saturday afternoon’s back-to-back qualifying sessions. The former secured his first-ever overall Sprint Cup pole, becoming the first Dutchman to start from P1 since Robin Frijns at Zolder in 2017. Engel booked P1 on the grid for the first time since Valencia 2021.
HRT Ford Performance carried out overnight repairs to its #64 Mustang after Romain Andriolo hit the barriers during Pre-Qualifying. The German squad’s hard work ensured that the car made its first competitive appearance on British soil when racing got underway on Sunday.
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On Sunday morning, a pit walk and autograph session brought a huge crowd of spectators to the Brands Hatch pit lane; indeed, the queue stretched all the way to Druids. As is typically the case, the venue felt very busy and fans were provided with plenty of off-track entertainment.
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The Sprint Cup resumes in two weeks’ time at Zandvoort. The Dutch venue returns to the calendar following a one-year absence, hosting a pair of 60-minute races over the weekend of 16-18 May. Just before that, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue runs on 13/14 May.