Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen claimed victory in Race 2 of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup weekend at Zandvoort, returning Emil Frey Racing to the top step of the podium.
Green took the lead from teammate Konsta Lappalainen immediately after an early Full Course Yellow before handing the #69 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO to Vermeulen. The Dutchman controlled the second half of his home race and crossed the line 3.7 seconds ahead of Bastian Buus in the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche.
Buus and Ricardo Feller’s second place proved equally significant, moving the pair into the Sprint Cup championship lead ahead of the Barcelona finale. Lappalainen and Matteo Cairoli completed the podium in the sister #14 Emil Frey Ferrari.
Emil Frey controls the opening stages
Lappalainen started Race 2 from pole after claiming his first GTWC Europe pole position earlier in the day. The Finn retained the lead into Turn 1, while Green made the stronger start from third and immediately passed Louis Prette’s #58 Garage 59 McLaren for second.
The two Emil Frey Ferraris subsequently settled into formation at the head of the field, with Green remaining close to his teammate without forcing an early move. Prette maintained third ahead of the cars fighting behind, while the #46 Team WRT BMW of Valentino Rossi and Max Hesse fell from fourth to sixth during the opening lap.
Emil Frey’s control of the race changed shortly after the 10-minute mark when the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche became stranded in the gravel. The incident brought out the Full Course Yellow and temporarily neutralised the field.
Green takes advantage at restart
The decisive moment came as Race Control prepared to end the Full Course Yellow.
Green immediately reacted to the restart procedure while Lappalainen hesitated in the leading #14 Ferrari. The British driver accelerated past his teammate and moved the #69 into first place before the race returned fully to green.
Once ahead, Green began creating enough separation to strengthen his position before the mandatory driver changes. The move ultimately proved decisive, with Emil Frey Racing going on to complete its return to victory at Zandvoort.
Green entered the pit lane from first before Vermeulen took over. A clean stop kept the #69 Ferrari at the front, leaving the Dutch driver to control the remainder of the race.
Lionspeed gains through pit stop
Lionspeed GP once again demonstrated its strength during the pit window.
Feller handed the #80 Porsche to Buus and the team’s rapid service elevated the car into second, splitting the two Emil Frey entries. The performance followed the same pattern as the pair’s victory at Magny-Cours, where a decisive pit stop had moved them from fourth into the lead.
Buus emerged ahead of Cairoli and retained the position through to the finish. While Vermeulen gradually pulled away, the Porsche remained secure in second and collected a result that would ultimately move its drivers to the top of the championship.
Behind them, Cairoli brought the #14 Ferrari home in third to complete a double podium for Emil Frey Racing.
Vermeulen seals home victory
Vermeulen faced little pressure once the race settled following the pit stops.
The Dutchman steadily maintained his advantage over Buus and eventually completed the 36-lap contest 3.7s clear of the Lionspeed Porsche. In doing so, Vermeulen became the first Dutch driver to claim an overall GTWC Europe victory at Zandvoort since 2014.
The win also completed a strong weekend recovery for the #69 crew after Green and Vermeulen had demonstrated front-running pace throughout Friday practice.
Hesse and Rossi recovered to fourth in the #46 Team WRT BMW. Their car had fallen to sixth at the beginning of the race, but the WRT crew regained both positions during the pit window with the quickest stop of the contest. Their total pit-in to pit-out time was 48.2 seconds.
Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer completed the top five in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari. Another consistent points finish leaves the pair firmly involved in the championship fight ahead of the final Sprint Cup round.
AF Corse strikes back in Gold Cup
The Gold Cup produced another change of momentum following Garage 59’s Race 1 victory.
Prette led the class during the first stint in the #58 McLaren, but its challenge unravelled during the driver-change sequence. A delayed stop left Thomas Fleming behind the #31 Team WRT BMW before contact between the cars sent Amaury Cordeel spinning.
Garage 59 subsequently received a stop-go penalty, dropping Fleming and Prette well outside the class battle.
Tommaso Mosca and Matías Zagazeta capitalised in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, finishing sixth overall and taking the Gold Cup victory. The result gives the pairing a 21-point championship advantage heading to Barcelona.
Robin Knutsson and Gilles Magnus finished second in class for Boutsen VDS from 10th overall.
Team WRT wraps up Silver Cup title
While the overall and Gold Cup championships remain undecided, the Silver Cup has already been settled.
Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro had secured the combined Silver Cup title by winning Race 1 in the #30 Team WRT BMW. Second place in Race 2 was then enough to make them Sprint Cup champions as well.
They were beaten on Sunday by Arthur Dorison and Oliver Söderström, who claimed their first Silver Cup victory of 2026 in the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin. The pair finished 12th overall, four places ahead of the championship-winning WRT entry.
Dempsey and Cheever complete Bronze Cup sweep
Peter Dempsey and Eddie Cheever completed a perfect Zandvoort weekend in the Bronze Cup with a second class victory for Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing.
The #93 Porsche finished 21st overall and led Kiern Jewiss and Charles Dawson’s #222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG. Dennis Marschall and Dustin Blattner completed the class podium for Kessel Racing.
Having won both races at Zandvoort, Dempsey and Cheever now take the Bronze Cup championship lead into Barcelona.
Buus and Feller take championship lead
Second place proved enough for Buus and Feller to leave Zandvoort at the head of the Sprint Cup standings.
The Lionspeed pairing arrived in the Netherlands just 2.5 points behind defending champions Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde, with the championship situation having remained unchanged during the previous Endurance Cup round at the Nürburgring.
They now lead with 59 points and hold a six-point advantage over Juncadella and the AF Corse pairing of Leclerc and Neubauer, who sit on 53.
Weerts and Van der Linde endured a difficult second race and finished 15th in the #32 Team WRT BMW. They remain within striking distance on 49.5 points, while Lucas Auer and Maro Engel, Green and Vermeulen, and Hesse and Rossi are among the other crews still mathematically involved.
Eight crews will consequently head to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a chance of securing the Sprint Cup title.
The full Zandvoort Race 2 results are available through GT World Challenge Europe.
After Emil Frey Racing emerged with the Race 2 victory, Lionspeed GP leaves the Netherlands with the more significant championship prize. Buus and Feller now control the standings, but with only six points separating the leading three positions, the 2026 Sprint Cup title will be decided at Barcelona from 2–4 October.
