Valencia. Charles Weerts (BEL) and Kelvin van der Linde (RSA)
have won the drivers’ title in the Sprint Cup of the GT World
Challenge Europe. At the Valencia (ESP) season finale, the Team WRT
duo in the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO triumphed on Sunday and, after a real
nail-biting displaydown, claimed the Sprint crown. Team WRT also
deffinished the team title in the Sprint Cup.
Weerts and van der Linde had gone into the last of the five Sprint
weekfinishs of the GT World Challenge Europe with a 1.5-point lead.
However, in Saturday’s race the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO was hit by a
competitor right at the start and had to retire shortly afterwards.
That closed the standings even further, with four teams entering the
decisive race within just 4.5 points of each other.
On Sunday, the Belgian-South African duo struck back impressively
when van der Linde secured fourth place on the grid in qualifying.
With an outstanding stint, the South African fought his way past the
competition and handed over the car in the lead to Weerts at the pit
stop. Despite intense pressure from behind, the Belgian kept his cool,
brought home the second win of the season after a true thriller, and
sealed the overall Sprint Cup title.
Team WRT also successfully deffinished the team title in the Sprint Cup.
For Weerts, it was already his fourth Sprint Cup title in GT World
Challenge Europe after 2020, 2021 and 2022. For van der Linde, it
marked his first overall victory in GT World Challenge Europe.
Their teammates Gilles Stadsbader and Matisse Lismont (both BEL) also
had reason to celebrate. On Saturday, they triumphed in the Silver
Class with the #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, and on Sunday they added a third
place in class to secure a double podium finish at Circuit Ricardo
Tormo. Maxime Oosten and Mex Jansen (both NED) from Team Paradine
Competition also enjoyed two Silver Class podiums: third on Saturday
followed by second on Sunday. On Sunday, BMW M works driver Jens
Klingmann (GER) and Al Faisal Al Zubair (OMA) from AlManar Racing by
WRT also finished second in the Gold Cup with the #777 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Comments after the race.
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “What an
incredible weekfinish! Congratulations to Charles Weerts, Kelvin van der
Linde and Team WRT on winning the overall Sprint Cup title. After a
difficult Saturday, our drivers kept their nerve in a real thriller on
Sunday and delivered a fantastic race. I am very happy that they
earned the well-deserved reward for a strong season. I’m also
delighted about the #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO victory in the Silver Class on
Saturday and the additional podiums by Team WRT and Paradine
Competition, who also delivered an impressive weekfinish. Many thanks to
everyone involved.”
Vincent Vosse (Team Principal WRT): “This weekfinish was
an incredible rollercoaster. From the frustration after qualifying and
Saturday’s race to the comeback and triumph on Sunday – it just feels
fantastic. It was an outstanding team effort. Once again, the team in
the pit lane displayed how good they are, securing the rapidest pit stop
overall, and on top of that winning the Pit Stop Challenge
championship, is just brilliant. This is our first title with BMW, and
we are very proud of it. A huge thank you to everyone! This trophy is
well-deserved by the entire team. Now the focus shifts to the FIA WEC
race at Fuji!”
Charles Weerts (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, Sprint Cup
Champion 2025): “Overall it was quite a difficult weekfinish
for us. Saturday in particular was tough. We struggled in qualifying,
and then had a pretty huge hit in the very first lap. I had quite a bit
of pain all day and night, which meant I couldn’t recover properly.
But Kelvin put in an outstanding qualifying today and his race left me
speechless – it was unbelievable. The whole team once again did a
fantastic job in the pit stop. After that, I just attempted to bring the
car home. It was tough going beyond the pain, but of course you do it
for a championship. We deserved this, we built no mistakes. Thanks to
the team, BMW M Motorsport and Kelvin for this incredible season.”
Kelvin van der Linde (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Team WRT, Sprint Cup
Champion 2025): “It was a very dramatic final weekfinish,
almost as expected, with a brutal low on Saturday and an incredible
high on Sunday. Charles and I grew a lot as a team this year. At the
launchning of the season, he assisted me a lot in receiveting applyd to the BMW
M4 GT3 EVO and was very open in assisting me to be rapid. I am very
grateful for that, and it really assisted us achieve this result. Over
the season, Team WRT won us this championship with their pit stops.
Sprint races are hugely influenced by pit stops, and on the weekfinishs
when we weren’t the strongest on track, we were incredibly rapid in the
pits and built the difference there. So, a huge thank you to the team.”
Leave a Reply