Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller claimed victory in Race 2 at the GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe Sprint Cup weekend at Magny-Cours after an exceptionally quick pit stop propelled the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche from fourth place into the lead.
Buus crossed the line 2.120 seconds ahead of Matisse Lismont, who secured the Silver Cup victory alongside Ignacio Montenegro in the #30 Team WRT BMW. Luca Engstler and Patric Niederhauser completed the overall podium for Rutronik Racing, handing the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 its first podium in GT World Challenge competition.
Thiim leads before an early penalty
Nicki Thiim started from pole position in the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin and retained the lead during the opening phase. However, the stewards handed him a 10-second penalty after judging that he had jumped the start.
Marvin Kirchhöfer followed closely in the #59 Garage 59 McLaren, while Christopher Haase occupied third in the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi. Feller held fourth in the Lionspeed GP Porsche as Thiim and Kirchhöfer gradually opened a sizeable advantage over the chasing group.
Heavy accident brings out the red flag
The race changed dramatically when Rinat Salikhov and Dustin Blattner made contact while approaching the Adelaide hairpin. Blattner’s #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari struck the inside barrier before travelling across the gravel trap.
Race control stopped the session because the impact had caused significant barrier damage. Officials transported Blattner to hospital for precautionary checks, while marshals repaired the circuit. The stoppage erased the advantage held by the leading cars and forced race control to delay the mandatory pit window.
Lionspeed GP takes control in the pits
The field restarted behind the safety car before the pit window eventually opened. Lionspeed GP delivered the decisive moment of the race when Feller handed the #80 Porsche over to Buus.
The crew completed the quickest stop of the field and gained enough time for Buus to emerge in the lead. Team WRT also executed a rapid driver change, allowing Lismont to take over the #30 BMW from Montenegro and move into second overall.
Arthur Leclerc handed the #50 AF Corse Ferrari to Thomas Neubauer in third, while Niederhauser’s strong opening stint placed Engstler fourth in the #96 Rutronik Racing Lamborghini.
Engstler fights his way onto the podium
The delayed pit window left the second drivers with a shortened final stint, but Engstler still found an opportunity to challenge Neubauer. The German completed the move and moved into third place behind Buus and Lismont.
Buus controlled the closing stages and completed 34 laps to secure victory for Lionspeed GP. He also recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1:37.209 on Lap 23. Lismont finished second, while Engstler crossed the line just 2.610 seconds behind the winning Porsche.
Neubauer and Leclerc finished fourth for AF Corse, ahead of Haase and Simon Reicher in the Eastalent Audi. James Kell and Arthur Rougier placed sixth overall in the #111 CSA Racing McLaren, with Dean MacDonald and Kirchhöfer seventh for Garage 59.
WRT, CSA Racing and Paradine secure class victories
Lismont and Montenegro converted their strong overall performance into another Silver Cup victory, finishing ahead of the rest of the class in second overall.
Kell and Rougier claimed Gold Cup honours for CSA Racing after Kell resisted pressure from MacDonald during the final part of the race. The #111 McLaren finished sixth overall, while the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Thierry Mosca and Matías Zagazeta took second in the Gold Cup and completed the overall top 10.
Darren Leung and Augusto Farfus secured Paradine Competition’s first Bronze Cup victory of the season in the #991 BMW. They inherited the class lead after the stewards handed the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG a 20-second penalty for its involvement in the collision with Blattner.
Difficult race for several leading contenders
Race 1 winners Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella finished eighth in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry after losing time during their pit stop. Valentino Rossi and Max Hesse placed ninth in the #46 Team WRT BMW.
Thiim and Kobe Pauwels fell to 18th after serving their start penalty, while Maro Engel and Lucas Auer finished 19th following a slow stop for the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG.
Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts started the #32 Team WRT BMW from the rear of the 44-car field after losing their qualifying lap times because of a technical infringement. Van der Linde initially made rapid progress but retired following contact after completing 10 laps.
GTWC Europe Magny-Cours Race 2 full result
