Just days before the opening six-hour endurance race at Circuit Paul Ricard, the GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe powered by AWS officially launched its 2026 track action with the traditional Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Therefore, with no time to lose, teams approached the sessions not only as a test but also as a crucial competitive rehearsal. With two sessions on Wednesday and a final four-hour run on Thursday, all 59 cars in the entry list logged meaningful mileage, allowing engineerts to gather extensive data on tyre performance, fuel loads and long-run consistency.
2026 GTWC Europe Prologue: Preining sets the early benchmark on Wednesday
Thomas Preining immediately established himself as a driver to watch. At the wheel of the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche, he delivered a 1m54.682s lap during the cooler morning conditions on Wednesday.
Crucially, that lap remained unbeaten throughout the day, underlining both the pace of the Lionspeed package and Preining’s confidence. Nevertheless, the margin at the top proved extremely tight. Christopher Haase, returning to the series, came within just 0.086 seconds in the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi.
Meanwhile, the afternoon session introduced a slightly different competitive picture. Ben Dörr pushed the #23 Team RJN McLaren to the top of the timesheets with a 1m54.762s lap. Although this fell short of Preining’s benchmark, it secured second overall across the combined classification.
At the same time, Loek Hartog impressed for Rutronik Racing by finishing just 0.042 seconds behind Dörr in the afternoon. Consequently, four different teams featured prominently at the front, highlighting the depth of competition.
Importantly, despite a handful of yellow flags and brief stoppages, no major incidents disrupted the opening day. This allowed teams to focus on structured run plans, including qualifying simulations and longer stints.
2026 GTWC Europe Prologue: Haase raises the bar on Thursday
When running resumed on Thursday, conditions allowed for even faster lap times. As a result, Haase seized the opportunity to move to the top of the overall standings. His 1m54.352s lap not only secured first place for the day but also stood as the fastest time of the entire Prologue.
This improvement of roughly three tenths over Preining’s Wednesday benchmark demonstrated both the evolving track conditions and the pace of the Eastalent Racing Audi package. Behind him, Alessio Picariello delivered a strong performance in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, finishing second and 0.283 seconds off the ultimate pace.
Furthermore, Ricardo Feller ensured Lionspeed remained competitive by placing third in another Porsche 911. Robert Renauer followed closely in the #91 Herberth Motorsport entry, reinforcing Porsche’s consistent presence near the front.
Thus, while Audi claimed the outright benchmark, Porsche demonstrated depth and consistency across multiple teams.
Aston Martin incidents disrupt Thursday running
Although the majority of the session ran smoothly, two separate incidents involving Aston Martin entries interrupted the flow.
Firstly, Jamie Day suffered a heavy crash at Turn 7 in the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport car. The impact caused significant front-end damage and triggered a stoppage. Importantly, Day emerged from the incident without injury, though he visited the medical centre for precautionary checks.
Shortly afterwards, Mari Boya lost control of the #18 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin while exiting Turn 2. The car struck the barriers at high speed, causing notable damage, albeit less severe than the earlier incident.
Consequently, both teams faced setbacks in their preparation programmes, particularly in terms of lost track time and repair work ahead of the race weekend.
Competitive picture takes shape ahead of 2026 GTWC Europe opener at Circuit Paul Ricard
Across the three sessions, several trends began to emerge. Firstly, the gap between the leading cars remained remarkably small, often measured in hundredths of a second. This suggests that qualifying could prove crucial, especially given the competitive density.
Secondly, both Audi and Porsche appear well-balanced across single-lap pace and consistency. Meanwhile, McLaren and other manufacturers also showed flashes of competitiveness, indicating that the field remains open.
In addition, the absence of major technical issues for most teams allowed for uninterrupted preparation. Therefore, many squads will enter the race weekend with a solid understanding of their setups.
Attention turns to race weekend
With the Prologue complete, focus now shifts firmly to competitive running. Friday’s schedule begins with the Bronze Test, followed by two 90-minute Free Practice sessions in the afternoon and evening.
Thereafter, qualifying and the six-hour endurance race will take place on Saturday, running from 18:00 to midnight. Given the tight margins seen during testing, the battle for victory remains wide open.
Ultimately, the Prologue has set the stage for an intensely competitive start to the 2026 season, with Christopher Haase and Thomas Preining emerging as early pace-setters—but with plenty of challengers close behind.
