Valencia, Race 1 - Vermeulen-Lulham winners under investigation, Sprint Championship shaken up

After multiple crashes, Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham secured victory for Max Verstappen's team in Spain. Engstler-Pepper and Auer-Engel moved back into the championship standings ahead of Sunday's finale.

Published 20/09/2025 à 15:19

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Valencia, Race 1 – Vermeulen-Lulham winners under investigation, Sprint championship shaken up

The winners' Ferrari 296 GT3. © SRO / JEP

The final meeting of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup was the scene of multiple incidents in Valencia (Spain) this Saturday, September 20. The start was marked by a strike at the second corner. Dylan Pereira (Audi), lost after a contact, hit the BMW of Charles Weerts, the leader of the Sprint Cup championship (retirement). Benjamin Goethe (McLaren, 2nd in the championship before the start) also suffered from the commotion and retired. Jake Dennis (BMW), Sandy Mitchell (Lamborghini), Ivan Klymenko (Audi) and Aleksei Nesov (Audi) were also caught up in the pile-up.

These twists and turns have shaken up the overall standings ahead of the final scheduled for Sunday at 14:45 p.m. Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde remain leaders, and their margin over Goethe-Kirchhöfer remains at 1,5 points. The excellent operation was achieved by Lucas Auer and Maro Engel (Mercedes). The Winward Racing duo finished 4th, bringing them back to within just 2,5 points of the leaders. Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper (Lamborghini) are back in the game with 11,5 points thanks to a very good 2nd place in Race 1. In total, five crews can still claim the Sprint title.

The victory was achieved by a Gold crew, composed of Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham (Ferrari). The duo of the team funded by Max Verstappen was the first to take the checkered flag, but a stewards' investigation casts doubt on their success. They are suspected of having improved their race time under yellow flags, which is illegal. Third place was taken by Monegasque Louis Prette and Thomas Fleining (McLaren).

In the Silver Cup, Kobe Pauwels and Jamie Day (Aston Martin) are winners following the retirement of their rivals Aurélien Panis and César Gazeau (Mercedes) due to mechanical problems. The classification remains provisional because numerous investigations have been opened by the race management in connection with several collisions.