Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella delivered Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing its first overall GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe victory in Race 1 at Magny-Cours. The No. 3 Mercedes-AMG controlled the race from pole position before Juncadella resisted late pressure from Arthur Leclerc to win by 2.597 seconds.
Thomas Neubauer and Leclerc charged from ninth on the grid to finish second for AF Corse, while Kobe Pauwels and Nicki Thiim completed the podium for Comtoyou Racing.
Gounon controls the opening stint of Race 1 at GTWC Europe Sprint Cup in Magny-Cours
Gounon maintained the lead at the start ahead of Kiern Jewiss in the Bronze Cup-leading No. 222 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG. Fabian Schiller initially moved his No. 12 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG into third, but Lucas Auer reclaimed the position for Winward Racing after Schiller became boxed in at the opening corner. Max Hesse endured a difficult start from third in the No. 46 Team WRT BMW. He dropped to seventh behind the leading group of Mercedes-AMGs, Neubauer’s Ferrari and Pauwels’ Aston Martin.
Gounon quickly established control at the front and built an advantage of approximately four seconds during the opening quarter of the race. Jewiss retained second overall and the Bronze Cup lead, while Auer, Schiller and Neubauer completed the top five. Further down the order, Alessio Picariello, Jim Pla and Amaury Cordeel gained several positions during the opening phase. However, the leaders largely maintained their positions as the race approached the mandatory pit-stop window.
AF Corse gains during the pit stops
Auer, Neubauer, Pauwels and Hesse led the first group of front-running cars into the pits. Maro Engel, Leclerc, Thiim and Valentino Rossi respectively took over their cars for the second half of the race. Gounon remained on track for an additional lap before handing the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG to Juncadella on Lap 19. The strategy allowed Juncadella to retain a comfortable lead once the pit-stop cycle had concluded.
AF Corse emerged as the biggest winner from the driver changes. The No. 50 Ferrari gained three positions during the pit sequence, promoting Leclerc into second ahead of Thiim and Engel. The Bronze Cup entries lost ground because their class regulations required longer minimum pit-stop times.
Thiim also moved ahead of Engel to place the Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin third. Behind them, Garage 59 capitalised on a slower Team WRT stop as Marvin Kirchhöfer moved his McLaren ahead of Rossi’s BMW and into fifth.
Multi-car incident brings out Full Course Yellow
A multi-car incident shortly after the pit window closed interrupted the GTWC Europe Race 1 in Magny-Cours. Michael Blanchemain, Jef Machiels, Mikey Porter and Christopher Haase became involved in the collision, which left Haase’s Eastalent Racing Audi stranded near the exit of the Imola chicane.
Race control deployed the Full Course Yellow with approximately 22 minutes remaining. Officials needed several minutes to recover the damaged Audi, leaving only 11 minutes of green-flag racing once the field returned to full speed. Machiels and Haase failed to reach the chequered flag, while Porter also stopped after completing 27 laps.
Juncadella withstands late pressure
Leclerc immediately placed Thiim under pressure following the restart. The Ferrari and Aston Martin made light contact as they fought over second, but Leclerc maintained the position and began closing the gap to Juncadella. The interruption had reduced Verstappen Racing’s earlier advantage, and Leclerc brought the Ferrari to within approximately two and a half seconds during the final five minutes. Juncadella responded by managing the gap and completed 33 laps to secure the victory.
The result gave Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing its maiden overall GT World Challenge Europe win. It also marked Juncadella’s first victory in a GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup race. Leclerc crossed the line 2.597 seconds behind the winner, while Thiim secured third for Comtoyou Racing, only 3.395 seconds away from the victorious Mercedes-AMG.
Winward and Garage 59 complete the top five
Engel brought the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG home in fourth, narrowly ahead of Kirchhöfer’s Garage 59 McLaren. Rossi and Hesse recovered to finish sixth for Team WRT, while Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde placed the team’s No. 32 BMW seventh.
Gilles Magnus and Robin Knutsson finished eighth overall and claimed the Gold Cup victory for Boutsen VDS. Their team-mates Dorian Boccolacci and Picariello followed in ninth, while Alex Aka and Dylan Pereira completed the overall top ten for Tresor Attempto Racing.
Jewiss and Charles Dawson secured the Bronze Cup win with 11th overall for 2 Seas Motorsport. Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro finished 15th to take the Silver Cup victory for Team WRT.
GTWC Europe Magny-Cours Race 1 full result
