Porsche and BMW share wins in Dutch Dunes

The battle for the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup crown continued merely two weeks after its opening round in Brand Hatch, as the packed Circuit Zandvoort played host to round two of the championship. Rutronik Racing and Team WRT shared the honors in two action-packed 60-minute contests on the Dutch coast.

Race 1 saw Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller launch their title challenge with a flawless performance to take the #96 Porsche to victory. A day later, a clinical pit stop helped Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde take their first win of the season in the #32 Team WRT BMW, propelling the duo into the championship lead.

Race 1

Saturday’s opener had the makings of chaos from the moment the 41-car field plunged into the slightly banked Tarzan Corner. Bastian Buus converted pole into an early lead aboard the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche, with Niederhauser immediately slotting into second after muscling past the #25 Audi of Gilles Magnus. Before the front-runners could settle, the Safety Car was deployed following contact involving the #64 Ford Mustang and the #24 Corvette.

Once racing resumed, Buus held the top spot – but only temporarily. Bronze Cup regulations meant the #89 Porsche would have to adhere to a minimum pitstop time, while Rutronik had a clear strategy: box early, execute cleanly, and let Müller bring it home. That’s exactly what happened.

Niederhauser handed over the car in prime position, and Müller emerged with a comfortable margin at the front. Jordan Pepper (#63 Grasser Lamborghini) had climbed to second after a well-judged move on Maro Engel (#48 Mercedes), who was trying to overcome a five-second penalty for an unsafe release. But Müller kept his cool under pressure, eventually winning by almost six seconds and earning the Rutronik duo a second Sprint Cup triumph, following their breakthrough in Barcelona last year.

Despite his penalty, Engel did just enough to hold off Paul Evrard for third, with the #25 Audi squad still celebrating a Gold Cup win in fourth overall. The #32 WRT BMW charged from 19th to fifth, ahead of the #59 Garage 59 McLaren and the #78 Barwell Lamborghini. The Silver Cup win went to the #99 Tresor Attempto Audi of Ezequiel Perez Companc and Alex Aka, who also completed the top 10 overall after climbing 12 spots.

The #69 Emil Frey Ferrari and #777 AlManar WRT BMW rounded out the Gold Cup podium, while the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes and #26 Saintéloc Audi completed the Silver Cup rostrum. The latter’s youngster Lorens Lecertua set the fastest lap of the race. In Bronze, Bashar Mardini resisted late pressure from Darren Leung (#991 BMW) to secure a class win for Lionspeed GP on their Sprint Cup debut.

Race 2

Race 2 looked set to belong to Emil Frey Racing after Ben Green and Chris Lulham locked out the front row in their Ferraris, but both cars were hit with 10-second penalties before a lap was complete – Green for jumping the start, Lulham for lining up out of position. That opened the door for Grasser Racing, with Pepper holding third in the #63 Lamborghini.

But it was Team WRT who stole the show. Starting ninth, van der Linde made early progress before pulling off a crucial move on the #96 Porsche to run sixth. That set up the defining moment: a searing 48.2-second pit stop – five seconds quicker than any rival – vaulted Weerts into the lead.

Once there, the Belgian was untouchable. While chaos unfolded behind, Weerts managed the gap and cruised to a dominant win – his 17th in Sprint Cup competition, but the first shared with van der Linde. Behind them, Ivan Klymenko delivered a heroic drive to second in the #26 Saintéloc Audi, resisting intense pressure from Luca Engstler’s #63 Lamborghini and bagging a commanding Silver Cup win in the process.

Grasser bagged another podium with third, followed by the ever-consistent #59 McLaren and the #96 Rutronik Porsche. The #99 Tresor Attempto Audi led a Silver Cup train through the top 10, finishing ahead of the #992 Paradine BMW and the #21 Comtoyou Aston Martin. Engel and Auer were ninth for Winward, with the #9 Boutsen Mercedes completing the points.

The Gold Cup went to Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen in the #69 Ferrari, salvaging victory despite their time penalty. Bronze Cup honours were swept up by Dennis Marschall and Dustin Blattner in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari after a composed run from class pole.

Looking ahead

With Zandvoort delivering another weekend of sun, strategy, and shuffling fortunes, the Sprint Cup now pauses until mid-July’s Misano doubleheader. In the meantime, the paddock shifts focus to endurance racing, with the Monza 3 Hours (30 May–1 June) and the 24 Hours of Spa (25–29 June) next on the calendar.