GT World Challenge Europe: Weerts and van der Linde celebrate Sprint Cup title in Valencia thriller.

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 showdown, claimed the Sprint crown. Team WRT also defended the team title in the Sprint Cup.

Weerts and van der Linde had gone into the last of the five Sprint weekends 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 defended 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 weekend! 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 weekend. Many thanks to everyone involved.”

Vincent Vosse (Team Principal WRT): “This weekend 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 showed how good they are, securing the fastest 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 weekend for us. Saturday in particular was tough. We struggled in qualifying, and then had a pretty big 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 tried 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 made 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 weekend, 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 beginning of the season, he helped me a lot in getting used to the BMW M4 GT3 EVO and was very open in helping me to be fast. I am very grateful for that, and it really helped 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 weekends when we weren’t the strongest on track, we were incredibly fast in the pits and made the difference there. So, a big thank you to the team.”