Ben Green will start the final race of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup season from pole position at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after extreme weather forced organisers to cancel Sunday morning’s Qualifying 2 session.
Officials instead formed the Race 2 grid using the fastest Free Practice 2 lap recorded by each crew’s second driver, producing an unusual starting order after Friday afternoon’s wet session. Green’s 1:55.165 puts the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO at the head of the field, while Maro Engel will line up alongside him in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. The amended official grid confirms Green and Engel on the front row before the delayed 18:20 CEST start.
Green returns Emil Frey Racing to pole for 2026 GTWC Europe Barcelona Race 2
Green took full advantage of the wet FP2 session on Friday afternoon, recording the quickest relevant time among the drivers who would otherwise have taken part in Qualifying 2. His 1:55.165 beat Engel’s 1:55.336 by 0.171s and therefore gives Emil Frey Racing pole for the final Sprint Cup race of the campaign.
The result gives Green and Thierry Vermeulen another opportunity to fight at the front after an increasingly strong second half of the season. The pair most recently returned Emil Frey Racing to the top step when they won Race 2 at Zandvoort, with Green taking advantage of the restart before Vermeulen completed the victory.
That Zandvoort result also demonstrated the #69 Ferrari’s ability to convert front-running pace into a major result. Green now starts the Barcelona finale from an even stronger position, although the unusual route to pole means the field has not completed a dedicated qualifying session in which to establish its Sunday pace.
Engel joins Green on the front row
Engel will start second in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG after his 1:55.336 from FP2 placed him less than two tenths behind Green. Lucas Auer and Engel arrived at Barcelona among the crews with a mathematical chance of securing the Sprint Cup crown, although Saturday’s opening race ultimately ended their title challenge.
Nevertheless, Winward Racing remains well placed to close the season with another significant result. Auer and Engel have regularly featured near the front throughout the Sprint campaign, while the #48 Mercedes-AMG again showed competitive pace in the wet conditions on Friday.
Green and Engel therefore form an experienced front row for a race that could prove particularly difficult to predict. Friday’s wet FP2 times established the grid rather than a conventional qualifying session, while the official revised Barcelona timetable from GTWC Europe pushes the finale into the early evening following the extreme weather alert.
Newly crowned champions start from third for 2026 GTWC Europe Barcelona Race 2
Ricardo Feller will start the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche from third after recording a 1:55.486 during FP2. He shares the second row with Gustav Bergström, whose 1:55.569 places the sister #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche fourth overall and on Silver Cup pole, as confirmed by the amended starting grid ahead of the finale.
Feller and Bastian Buus enter Race 2 with the main objective of their Barcelona weekend already accomplished. Their second-place finish in Saturday’s opening contest proved sufficient to secure the 2026 Sprint Cup drivers’ championship after their closest rivals failed to score enough points to keep the title battle alive.
The championship completed a campaign in which Lionspeed GP steadily established itself as a genuine title contender. Buus and Feller recovered from disappointment in the opening Brands Hatch race to win Race 2 from pole at Brands Hatch before a rapid pit stop helped them claim another victory at Magny-Cours later in the campaign.
Their second-place finish behind Green and Vermeulen at Zandvoort then moved them to the head of the standings, while Buus strengthened that advantage by taking pole for the opening Barcelona race. Feller now has the opportunity to conclude the title-winning campaign with another podium or victory from the second row.
Haase and Lulham complete the top six
Christopher Haase will start fifth for Eastalent Racing after setting a 1:55.630 aboard the #84 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II. Chris Lulham joins him on the third row after his 1:55.651 placed the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry sixth.
The official grid also clarifies that Lulham, rather than Dani Juncadella, will start the Mercedes-AMG. The amended document uses an asterisk to identify each car’s starting positon, placing Lulham alongside Haase on row three.
Lulham and Juncadella had arrived at Barcelona firmly involved in the overall championship battle. However, their 12th-place finish in Race 1, combined with Feller and Buus taking second, ended their title challenge before Sunday’s finale.
Behind them, Arthur Rougier will start seventh overall and on Gold Cup pole for CSA Racing. His 1:55.866 in the #111 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO puts him alongside Dorian Boccolacci, who starts eighth aboard the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche, while Matteo Cairoli and Luca Engstler complete the overall top 10.
Bergström heads Silver Cup from fourth overall
Bergström’s fourth-place starting position represents one of the most significant consequences of using the FP2 times to establish the Race 2 grid. The Swedish driver put the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche well clear of several other Silver Cup entries during Friday’s wet session, earning both a second-row overall start and class pole.
Andrea Frassineti provides the next Silver Cup representation aboard the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, while Carl Bennett starts the #71 AF Corse Ferrari further down the order following a five-place grid penalty.
Already-crowned class champions Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro start much deeper in the #30 Team WRT BMW. The pairing secured the Silver Cup crown during the Zandvoort weekend, leaving Barcelona as an opportunity to complete their successful campaign without championship pressure.
Rougier takes Gold Cup pole
Rougier will lead the Gold Cup field from seventh overall after producing a 1:55.866 aboard the #111 CSA Racing McLaren. The result places him comfortably ahead of the other class contenders and gives Rougier and James Kell a strong opportunity to end their Sprint Cup campaign with a victory.
Alex Aka will start the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi further down the order after taking victory alongside Dylan Pereira in Saturday’s opening race. The pairing emerged on top of a chaotic wet-weather contest after climbing from 14th on the grid, with Aka eventually resisting Feller during the closing stages.
Meanwhile, Tommaso Mosca and Matías Zagazeta have already secured the Gold Cup championship despite enduring a difficult opening Barcelona race. Their title success removes some of the pressure heading into the finale, while Rougier starts with the advantage at the head of the class.
Dempsey starts from Bronze Cup pole
Peter Dempsey will start the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche from 18th overall and at the head of the Bronze Cup field. His 1:57.525 from FP2 gives Dempsey and Eddie Cheever another significant advantage as they attempt to complete their class championship campaign.
The pairing enters Race 2 on the brink of the Bronze Cup crown after building considerable momentum late in the season. Cheever and Dempsey had already taken class victory during Zandvoort Race 1 before strengthening their championship position again during Saturday’s wet Barcelona opener.
The official amended grid places the #93 Porsche among a tightly packed midfield group, while several of its main Bronze Cup rivals start further down the order.
Penalties amend final starting order
Officials issued an amended starting grid ahead of Race 2 after applying several changes further down the field. The #71 AF Corse Ferrari carries a five-place grid drop stemming from a stewards’ decision at Zandvoort, while the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin also receives a five-place penalty.
The #27 entry has withdrawn, while officials reinstated the #32 Team WRT BMW’s 1:58.285 FP2 lap following a Driver ID problem. Those changes appear in the final official grid published ahead of the delayed Sunday race.
The resulting order highlights how unusual the Barcelona finale has become. Instead of qualifying specifically for the last race of the season, teams will start according to wet-weather practice laps recorded two days earlier, with several crews occupying positions that differ substantially from the expected competitive order.
Green will therefore lead Engel away from the front row, while newly crowned champions Feller and Buus begin their final race of the season from third. Bergström starts alongside Feller with Silver Cup pole, Rougier heads the Gold Cup from seventh and Dempsey leads the Bronze Cup from 18th.
The official GTWC Europe Barcelona noticeboard contains the latest sporting documents for the event, while the Sprint Cup season finale remains scheduled to begin at 18:20 CEST.
