An extreme weather alert across Catalunya has forced SRO Motorsports Group to significantly revise Sunday’s programme at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Qualifying 2 cancelled and the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup season finale pushed back to 18:20 CEST.
A local government directive prohibits outdoor activity between 20:00 CEST on Saturday and 14:00 CEST on Sunday due to the threat of heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds. Consequently, the circuit will remain inactive until Sunday afternoon, while organisers have condensed four championships into a revised schedule that begins with the GT3 Revival Series at 14:30 CEST.
The GTWC Europe finale will conclude the day with its one-hour race at 18:20 CEST, more than two hours later than originally scheduled.
Extreme weather forces further Barcelona changes
Heavy rain had already caused significant disruption to Saturday’s programme. The opening GTWC Europe race required a red flag after approximately 30 minutes as conditions deteriorated, although organisers eventually resumed the contest and completed the race.
The weather continued to worsen afterwards. The subsequent GT3 Revival Series race also stopped before reaching its scheduled conclusion and did not resume, while organisers cancelled the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe race that should have completed Saturday’s programme.
Race directors subsequently declared conditions unsafe for further running and cancelled the remainder of Saturday. SRO then faced another restriction when the local government prohibited outdoor activity at the circuit between Saturday evening and 14:00 CEST on Sunday due to the severe weather alert.
The initial Barcelona event update had already warned that the remaining qualifying sessions could disappear from the programme. Organisers have now confirmed that outcome, with the revised Sunday timetable focused solely on completing races for the four championships in attendance.
Revised Sunday timetable
The official revised Barcelona timetable will begin with preparations to assess the circuit before competitive running gets underway.
14:00 CEST – Track inspection and Full Course Yellow/Safety Car exercise
Officials will begin Sunday’s on-track programme by inspecting conditions around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Race Control will also conduct a Full Course Yellow and Safety Car exercise before racing begins.
14:30–15:20 CEST – GT3 Revival Series Race 2
The GT3 Revival Series will become the first championship to race under the revised programme with a 50-minute contest.
15:25 CEST – GT3 Revival Series podium
The podium ceremony will follow immediately after the opening race of the afternoon.
15:45–16:35 CEST – Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Race 2
Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe will then contest its 50-minute race after Saturday’s planned encounter was cancelled due to the worsening weather.
15:45–16:35 CEST – Autograph session
An autograph session will also take place in the paddock during the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race.
16:40 CEST – Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe podium
The championship’s podium ceremony will follow shortly after the chequered flag.
17:00–17:50 CEST – McLaren Trophy Europe Race 2
McLaren Trophy Europe will become the third support category to race on Sunday, completing another 50-minute contest.
17:55 CEST – McLaren Trophy Europe podium and GTWC Europe grid walk
The McLaren Trophy podium ceremony will take place as preparations begin for the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup season finale.
18:00 CEST – GTWC Europe pit lane opens
Cars will begin making their way towards the grid as teams complete the final preparations for Race 2.
18:15 CEST – GTWC Europe formation lap
The field will leave the grid for the formation lap five minutes before the revised race start.
18:20–19:20 CEST – GTWC Europe Sprint Cup Race 2
The final race of the 2026 Sprint Cup season will begin at 18:20 CEST, which corresponds to 12:20 p.m. EST. The one-hour contest will decide the remaining championship battles at the end of a heavily disrupted Barcelona weekend.
19:30 CEST – GTWC Europe Race 2 podium
The overall and class podium ceremonies will follow the conclusion of the season finale.
19:40 CEST – Sprint Cup championship podiums
SRO will then recognise the newly crowned Sprint Cup champions following the completion of the 2026 campaign.
19:50 CEST – Champions press conference
The final scheduled activity of the weekend will feature the championship winners speaking to the media.
All timings remain subject to conditions at the circuit and any further instructions from local authorities.
Free Practice 2 times to determine Race 2 grid
The cancellation of Qualifying 2 creates an unusual starting order for the Sprint Cup finale. Rather than holding a dedicated qualifying session, officials will determine the grid using the best lap recorded by each crew’s second driver during Friday afternoon’s wet Free Practice 2 session.
That distinction is significant because teams approached the rain-affected practice in different ways. Some concentrated on outright lap time, while others completed longer runs or focused on wet-weather setup work. Therefore, the resulting grid differs considerably from the competitive order that a conventional qualifying session might have produced.
Ben Green will start the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari from pole after producing a 1:55.165 during FP2. Maro Engel joins him on the front row in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG after setting a 1:55.336, while Ricardo Feller will start the championship-leading #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche from third following his 1:55.486.
Gustav Bergström will line up fourth for the second Lionspeed GP Porsche, while Christopher Haase starts fifth for Eastalent Racing. Chris Lulham completes the third row for Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.
The unconventional procedure therefore adds another unpredictable element to a weekend already dominated by changing weather conditions.
GTWC Europe finale pushed back to 18:20
Race 2 had originally been scheduled to start at 16:00 CEST, with Qualifying 2 taking place earlier in the day. The severe weather alert has now removed the qualifying session completely and pushed the final race back by two hours and 20 minutes.
The later start will also bring the race much closer to sunset. The revised official timetable lists sunset at 19:28 CEST, just eight minutes after the scheduled chequered flag at 19:20.
Consequently, even if the worst weather clears before track activity begins, teams could still face changing light, cooler temperatures and a potentially damp or drying circuit during the championship decider.
Unusual finale awaits Sprint Cup field
The revised format carries particular significance for the championship contenders. Buus and Feller strengthened their position by finishing second in Saturday’s opening race after arriving at Barcelona at the head of the Sprint Cup standings.
Buus had already added a bonus point by taking pole for Race 1, while their second-place finish behind Alex Aka and Dylan Pereira further strengthened their advantage.
With Qualifying 2 now cancelled, the championship contenders will not have another opportunity to collect a qualifying bonus point before the finale. Meanwhile, the FP2-based grid places Feller and Buus third, giving the Lionspeed GP crew another advantageous starting position for the final race of the season.
Nevertheless, the Barcelona weekend has already demonstrated how quickly changing weather can overturn the expected order. Therefore, despite the championship leaders starting near the front, the final one-hour contest remains far from straightforward.
For now, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will remain silent until the government restriction expires. Officials will inspect the track at 14:00 CEST before the GT3 Revival Series begins the revised racing programme at 14:30 and GTWC Europe brings the 2026 Sprint Cup season to a close at 18:20.
