Thomas Fleming and Louis Prette delivered Garage 59 its first overall GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe victory of the 2026 season in Race 1 at Zandvoort, with the Gold Cup duo defeating Morris Schuring and Dorian Boccolacci in the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche.
Fleming made the decisive move on the opening lap after starting alongside Schuring on the front row. From there, the #58 McLaren remained at the head of the field through the mandatory pit-stop phase before Prette completed the victory.
Behind them, Thierry Vermeulen and Ben Green claimed third for Emil Frey Racing after Green produced a late charge through the podium battle. Klaus Bachler and Simon Birch took fourth for Razoon – more than racing, while Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing completed the top five following a post-race penalty for the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche.
Fleming takes the lead from Schuring on the opening lap
Schuring started from pole after putting the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche at the front during Qualifying 1. The Dutchman had already demonstrated his pace around Zandvoort when he topped FP2 for Boutsen VDS, but Fleming immediately challenged him when the 45-car field launched into Race 1.
Schuring retained the advantage through Tarzan as Fleming settled into second. However, Fleming quickly attacked again and sent the #58 Garage 59 McLaren down the inside at Gerlach to wrestle the lead away from the polesitter.
Once ahead, Fleming settled into a controlled rhythm. The Briton maintained an advantage of between one and two seconds over Schuring throughout the opening stint, preventing the Boutsen VDS driver from getting close enough to mount a serious response.
The battle behind the leading pair remained considerably tighter. Several cars fought over the remaining positions while Fleming and Schuring gradually separated themselves from the pack. Nevertheless, Fleming never established enough of a margin to eliminate the threat from the #2 Porsche ahead of the mandatory driver changes.
Garage 59 retains control through tense pit window
The mandatory pit-stop sequence created Garage 59’s biggest threat to the lead. Traffic complicated the #58 McLaren’s stop and briefly gave Boutsen VDS an opportunity to overturn the order.
However, Garage 59 completed the change successfully, with Prette taking over from Fleming and returning to the track ahead of Boccolacci. The Monegasque quickly settled into the second half of the race and kept the #2 Porsche behind him.
Further back, Razoon – more than racing emerged as one of the biggest winners from the pit window. Bachler handed the #914 Porsche to Birch, and the Austrian squad’s strong stop promoted the car into third.
However, Birch immediately faced pressure from Ricardo Feller. The Swiss driver took over the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche from Bastian Buus as the pair chased another major result following their Race 2 victory at Magny-Cours.
Feller repeatedly attacked Birch but could not find a clean route past the 19-year-old. Their fight also allowed Green to close rapidly in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari after taking over from Vermeulen.
Green produces late double pass for final podium place
While Prette and Boccolacci maintained their positions at the front, the fight for third intensified during the closing stages. Birch continued to resist Feller, with the pair racing wheel-to-wheel as the Lionspeed driver searched for an opening.
However, Green soon turned their two-car fight into a three-way contest. With approximately five minutes remaining, the Emil Frey Racing driver capitalised on the battle ahead and found a way past both Porsches.
The double overtake elevated Green into third and ended Birch’s lengthy defence of the final podium position. Vermeulen and Green therefore secured Emil Frey Racing’s first overall GTWC Europe podium since the opening race of the 2025 season.
Birch continued to hold Feller behind despite losing touch with Green. The Razoon driver eventually crossed the line ahead of the Lionspeed Porsche after resisting sustained pressure throughout the second stint.
However, a post-race penalty ultimately changed the classification behind the podium. Buus had loosened his seatbelts while still on track before the driver change, and the resulting penalty dropped the #80 Porsche to 23rd in the amended Race 1 classification. The penalty promoted Birch and Bachler to fourth overall and moved Dani Juncadella and Chris Lulham into fifth for Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing.
Fleming and Prette make Gold Cup history
At the front, Prette kept Boccolacci under control through the final laps and completed 35 laps to secure victory. The Garage 59 McLaren crossed the line 0.676 seconds ahead of the Boutsen VDS Porsche, giving Fleming and Prette both the outright and Gold Cup wins.
The result marked Garage 59’s first overall GTWC Europe victory of the season and produced the first overall Sprint Cup victory for a Gold Cup entry.
Schuring and Boccolacci took second and the Pro Cup victory, while Vermeulen and Green completed the overall podium. Birch and Bachler followed in fourth ahead of Juncadella and Lulham, whose recovery drive from 27th on the grid included the fastest lap of the race.
Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer moved into sixth for AF Corse after the Lionspeed penalty, while Tommaso Mosca and Matias Zagazeta finished seventh overall and second in the Gold Cup. Nicki Thiim and Kobe Pauwels completed the amended overall top nine for Comtoyou Racing.
Lismont and Montenegro secure combined Silver Cup title
Team WRT enjoyed considerably more success with its Silver Cup entry. Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro brought the #30 BMW home eighth overall and secured their fifth Silver Cup victory from seven Sprint Cup races.
Their latest class win also secured the combined Silver Cup championship. The pair had established themselves as the benchmark throughout the Sprint campaign and entered Zandvoort in a commanding position after another victory at Magny-Cours.
Lismont and Montenegro now turn their attention towards completing the Sprint Cup title at the second Zandvoort race.
Cheever and Dempsey take Bronze Cup victory
Eddie Cheever and Peter Dempsey converted their strong qualifying pace into the Bronze Cup victory for Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing.
The #93 Porsche spent much of the race fighting the #991 Paradine Competition BMW of Darren Leung and Augusto Farfus. Cheever and Dempsey eventually prevailed and finished 17th overall in the amended classification, with Leung and Farfus following immediately behind in second within the class.
Rinat Salikhov and Marvin Dienst completed the Bronze Cup podium for Winward Racing. The result allowed the championship leaders to limit the damage despite their rivals taking the class victory.
Elsewhere, the opening Zandvoort race delivered a significant blow to several overall Sprint Cup championship contenders. Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde had already faced a difficult task after qualifying 33rd in the #32 Team WRT BMW. Although they began moving through the field, a technical problem ended their race after 19 laps.
The result, combined with Lionspeed’s penalty and the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG finishing outside the points, kept the championship battle finely balanced heading into Sunday’s second Zandvoort contest.
The full GTWC Europe Zandvoort Race 1 results confirm Garage 59’s #58 McLaren at the head of the 35-lap classification ahead of Boutsen VDS and Emil Frey Racing.
