Team WRT Silver Cup BMW grabs overall podium at Magny-Cours while title leaders keep Sprint Cup lead
Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro surged to second overall at Magny-Cours, while Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts survived a troubled weekend to keep the Sprint Cup championship lead.
- 2nd (Team WRT #30)
- 3
- 42nd
- 1st (Paradine #991)
What Happened
Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro claimed a sensational overall podium in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Magny-Cours, driving the Team WRT #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to second place in Sunday's race. The pair had already won the Silver Cup on Saturday evening, their third Sprint Cup class win of the season. After a red flag period on Sunday, an excellent Team WRT strategy helped them climb to second overall, with Lismont defending the position to the finish. Team WRT completed a one-two in the Silver Cup.
Lismont and Montenegro win the Silver Cup, their third class win of the season. Van der Linde and Weerts start 17th and recover to 7th. Paradine Competition's Farfus and Leung finish 4th in the Bronze Cup.
Lismont and Montenegro finish 2nd overall and win the Silver Cup again. Van der Linde is stripped of pole for a technical infringement, starts 42nd, then retires after contact. Farfus and Leung win the Bronze Cup.
The Belgian-Argentinian duo's Sunday charge came after a red flag period, when Team WRT's strategy call helped them climb to second overall. Lismont then held the position to the finish. It was their second Silver Cup victory of the weekend and third of the season.
“This is simply amazing - having a race weekend like this in my first year racing a GT3 car. Matisse and I felt very comfortable at Magny-Cours, both in qualifying and in the races. On top of that, Team WRT executed a superb strategy and a perfect pit stop. The results are incredible.”
Championship leaders Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts endured a challenging weekend. They qualified 17th on Saturday and recovered to seventh in the evening race. On Sunday, van der Linde set the fastest qualifying time but was stripped of pole due to a technical regulations infringement, forcing a start from 42nd. He gained positions early before retiring after contact with another competitor. Despite the setback, the pair retained their lead in the Sprint Cup standings.
“It was a difficult weekend for us. We didn't get everything out of our package that was possible. The disqualification from qualifying after taking pole on Sunday obviously hit us hard. But our main championship rivals also had a difficult Sunday. We still lead the Sprint Cup standings and have every chance of defending the title.”
- Max Hesse and Valentino Rossi finished sixth and ninth in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
- Jordan Pepper and Amaury Cordeel took 20th and 11th places.
- Augusto Farfus and Darren Leung won Sunday's Bronze Cup race for Paradine Competition with the #991 BMW M4 GT3 EVO after fourth in Race 1.
- KPX Motorsport finished sixth and seventh in the Gold Cup.
Why this matters
The result shows a Silver Cup entry can finish ahead of Pro-class cars when strategy and a red flag fall its way, and it strengthens Team WRT's presence across the Sprint Cup field. Championship leaders van der Linde and Weerts kept their title hopes alive despite a qualifying penalty and a retirement, keeping the points fight tight. BMW customers also took wins in the Bronze and Silver classes, underlining the M4 GT3 EVO's competitiveness across categori…
Terms in This Story
- Silver Cup
- A classification in GT World Challenge Europe for driver pairings that include at least one Bronze or Silver-rated driver. Results are ranked separately from the overall Pro class.
- Bronze Cup
- A class within GT World Challenge Europe for driver pairings where at least one driver holds a Bronze rating, typically an amateur.
- Sprint Cup
- A sub-championship of GT World Challenge Europe that uses shorter sprint race formats, as opposed to longer endurance races.
- Red flag
- A signal that stops a race, usually for unsafe conditions. Cars are brought under control and the race may be restarted.
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