Paul-Ricard – BMW and Team WRT get the season off to a perfect start

GT World Challenge Europe ranking Endurance Cup – Paul-Ricard 2025:

• Held late Saturday evening, April 12, the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at Paul-Ricard (Var) allowed Team WRT to shine. The Belgian team claimed its eighth Endurance Cup victory, and BMW's 13th in the discipline, thanks to Kelvin van der Linde, Charles Weerts, and Ugo de Wilde:

TEAM WRT FOR THE WIN 🏆

Kelvin van der Linde, Charles Weerts and Ugo de Wilde seal the team's eighth overall series Endurance Cup victory. It's also a first for de Wilde 👏🏼#GTWorldEurope#CircuitPaulRicard pic.twitter.com/04RizZkONV

— GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (@GTWorldChEu) April 12, 2025

• One of the best cars on the grid, the BMW M4 GT3 once again demonstrated its effectiveness when it came to overtaking the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Patrick Niederhauser (Rutronik Racing) to take the lead of the race with 1 hour and 45 minutes to go:

Team WRT to the lead! ☝️

Kelvin van der Linde gets the cutback on Niederhauser to knock the #96 Rutronik Porsche from the lead.

The #32 Team WRT BMW is looking very quickly in the cool conditions.

📺 https://t.co/DP4KVBoV1Y#GTWorldEurope | #CircuitPaulRicard pic.twitter.com/dUVMl0m2X3

— GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS (@GTWorldChEu) April 12, 2025

• Niederhauser was initially able to stay with the Team WRT man, but as the race progressed, Van der Linde pulled away to win by 4,3 seconds. This result gives BMW its 13th Endurance Cup victory and third at Paul Ricard, while also securing its new M4 GT3 EVO victory for the first time in the series.
• Although it did not take the overall victory, Porsche could nevertheless look back on a double podium, with the No. 96 Rutronik car being followed by the No. 22 CLRT car from Schumacher. Four other brands occupied the following four positions: the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter n°48, followed by theAston Martin Comtoyou Racing No. 7, the BMW Rowe Racing No. 98 and the McLaren CSA Racing No. 111.
• The Gold class was won by CSA Racing, which is entering McLaren 2025S GT720s in 3. Two French drivers were among the winning crew: Simon Gachet and Arthur Rougier!