Tresor Attempto Racing took an unexpected overall win in the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup at Monza after a race that rewarded clean execution as much as outright speed.
The #66 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Ariel Levi, Sebastian Øgaard and Rocco Mazzola came through a disrupted three-hour contest to claim both the overall victory and Silver Cup honours. Their win came after several leading Pro cars either lost time, retired or became caught in incidents during a race that never fully settled into a predictable rhythm.
The result gave Audi a major GTWC Europe success and delivered one of the most surprising overall winners of the season so far.
What happened so far?
After two unpredictable Practice sessions at Monza, Qualifying gave the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup field its clearest competitive picture before the three-hour race. HRT Ford Performance delivered a landmark result as the #64 Ford of Thomas Drouet, Arjun Maini and Fabio Scherer claimed overall pole, securing Ford’s first pole position in the series.
The split qualifying format saw Bronze and Silver Cup entries run in Group A before the Gold and Pro cars completed each segment in Group B. Maini put the #64 Ford at the top in Q1, while the car held provisional pole on average time after Q2 despite Chris Lulham setting the fastest lap in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry. Ben Dörr then topped Q3 in the #23 RJN McLaren, but Drouet’s final effort secured pole for HRT Ford on average lap time. The #3 Mercedes-AMG qualified second overall but will take a five-place grid penalty for the race.
Lights go green in Monza
The race changed at the first chicane, where the field arrived tightly packed after the start. Several cars attacked the braking zone with little margin, and the situation escalated once Maxime Martin in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG ran wide through the run-off area before rejoining the racing line.
Martin’s return to the track triggered the chain reaction that followed. Alessio Rovera in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari had to take avoiding action, which pushed the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche towards the barrier. Rovera’s Ferrari then came back across the track and turned Marvin Kirchhöfer’s #59 Garage 59 McLaren, sending the McLaren into the pack at the first chicane.
Drama at turn 1! 🤯🤯
— GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (@GTWorldChEu) May 31, 2026
Multiple cars were involved in a huge collision on the opening lap here in Monza. All drivers OK ✅#GTWorld | #GT3 #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/utqrqYcMoR
That contact created a major multi-car accident near the front. The crash eliminated eight cars from the race and involved eight of the first ten qualifiers, while many others had to use the run-off area to avoid the wreckage. Both HRT Ford Performance entries suffered heavy damage, including the pole-sitting #64 Ford Mustang GT3, ending Ford’s chance to convert its landmark qualifying result into a race result.
The accident reshaped the race before it had properly begun. Instead of developing into a fight led by the strongest qualifying cars, the three-hour contest immediately moved into recovery mode. The long safety car period bunched the field, disrupted early strategy plans and opened the door for cars that had started further back.
Race Control later penalised Martin for his role in the accident, although he disputed responsibility and said he had not made contact with another car. The #17 Mercedes-AMG continued initially, but later retired after losing significant time.
Front-runners fall away
HRT Ford had started from a position of strength after taking overall pole with the #64 Ford Mustang GT3, while its sister car also began the race from class pole. However, both cars suffered heavy damage in the opening crash, ending Ford’s chance to convert its qualifying breakthrough into a race result.
Other leading names also lost ground during the race. The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry, which had shown strong pace across the weekend, retired after sustaining damage and later suffering suspension failure. Valentino Rossi’s #46 Team WRT BMW also retired early with a clutch issue.
Those setbacks opened the door for teams that avoided the worst of the trouble. Tresor Attempto kept the #66 Audi in the fight and stayed within reach as the order shifted through safety cars, Full Course Yellows and pit stop phases.
Late drama hands Audi the advantage
The 2026 GTWC race in Monza took another decisive turn in the final hour. Team WRT had looked set to fight for victory with the #32 BMW, but late contact involving several cars reshaped the lead battle and removed more contenders from the podium fight.
🚨 A LAST LAP ACCIDENT! 🚨
— GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (@GTWorldChEu) May 31, 2026
In the closing moments of the race, an incident at Turn 1 sees the race finish under Safety Car.
All drivers out of the car ✅#GTWorld | #GT3 #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/O32Q7tDGJf
Tresor Attempto took full advantage. Levi, Øgaard and Mazzola had kept the Audi clean enough and close enough to benefit when the final phase unravelled. Their Silver Cup entry then held firm to secure a shock overall victory.
Winward Racing finished second with the #48 Mercedes-AMG, which also ended the race as the highest-placed Pro Cup car. Team CSA Racing completed the podium with the #555 McLaren after a remarkable recovery from 41st on the grid.
CSA Racing completes standout comeback
CSA Racing’s podium became one of the strongest recovery stories of the 2026 GTWC race in Monza. The #555 McLaren gained 38 places across the three hours, climbing from the lower half of the grid to third overall.
That charge underlined how unusual the Monza race became. While several expected contenders lost their chance through accidents, penalties or mechanical problems, the teams that managed risk best found themselves in position to score heavily.
For Tresor Attempto, that meant turning a strong Silver Cup performance into an outright victory. For Winward and CSA Racing, it meant leaving Monza with podium results after a race where survival became just as important as speed.
Monza delivers unpredictable Endurance Cup result
The 3 Hours of Monza produced a result few would have predicted after qualifying. HRT Ford started from pole but lost both cars in the opening chaos, several front-running Pro entries dropped out of contention, and a Silver Cup Audi emerged as the overall winner.
Tresor Attempto did not need to dominate the race from the start. Instead, the team kept itself in position, avoided the worst of the disruption and made the most of the opportunities that followed.
On a day defined by damage and shifting momentum, the #66 Audi crew delivered the cleanest path through the chaos and left Monza with an unlikely but deserved victory.
