The long summer break is over and the GT Cup Europe contenders are anxious to take the track again. There is excitement to embark in the last third of the season, as it features two of the most iconic tracks, Monza and Barcelona.
The first stop is at the monumental Autodromo di Monza: the ‘Temple of Speed’, with its 5.793 kms of straights, ‘curvoni’ and chicanes always providing great emotions to drivers and fans alike, and attracting a 20-car entry. It will already be the penultimate round of the year, so a very important one towards the various title battles.
OVERALL: THE DUTCH-ITALIAN DUEL CONTINUES
No surprise: at Monza, most of the attention will be on the duel that has dominated the season and will likely decide the 2026 Champion. Jurriaan De Back and Paul Meijer, the Dutch pair in the Hans Wijs Motorsport Porsche, continue in the lead, but closely challenged by Matteo Luvisi and Pietro Delli Guanti, in a similar car entered by FAEMS Team by Ebimotors. Only six points separate the Dutch and the Italian pairs, which both have three wins to their credit. Needless to say, from now on every point counts and no mistakes are allowed.
Third in contention, 22 points from the lead but still with chances, is Lodovico Longoni in the 911 Cup of ZRS Motorsport. The young Italian will be partnered for the rest of the season by Simone Iaquinta, with whom he has clinched his two wins so far.
Behind the top three, there are though many candidates to a maiden win, starting from Lodovico-Laurini and Diego Stifter, the Bi-Race Motorsport pair who have been very consistent, and the second FAEMS Team by Ebimotors pair, composed of Matteo Martinelli and Giacomo Pedrini.
In Italy, a very interesting new entry will make its debut: German stalwart squad Leipert Motorsport, with a Lamborghini Huracán SuperTrofeo entrusted to Sweden’s Axel Bengtsson and US racer Wolfe Barrett.
PRO-AM: SPANIARDS IN THE LEAD
With 7 cars, the Pro-Am class is the one where the provisional leader has the widest margin, although 12 points is certainly not enough to close the games. Alejandro Barambio and Borja García, defending the colours of Spanish squad GT Corse, are at the helm, but the second is not far. This is Philippine’s Fgani Salubre, who has won three races, one less than the leaders. The HWM driver will have a new teammate in Italy, Belgium’s Kai Rillaerts.
Third in the class standings, 18 points frpm the lead, is the Lusitanian-speaking pair of Flávio Sampaio and Bernardo Pinheiro, in one of the LMR Motorsport cars, right ahead of the Tsunami RT car of championship leaders Davide Scannicchio and Fabio Babini.
SP Racing is back for its home round, with Stefano Zerbi and Eugenio Pisani, while in the Team Cars Racing-entered unit will be Emanuele Romani nd Marco Squillaci. Also from Italy is a second Bi-Race Motorsport car for Giovanni Stefanin and Paolo Calcagno.
AM CLASS: FOUR CONTENDERS IN THREE POINTS
The Am class is the one where the title battle is the closest, as four contenders are covered by three points. At the top of the standings, there is a tie between the reigning champions Leandro Martins-Dieter Svepes (LMR Motorsport) and the HWM Motorsport of Hans Wijs and Rick van Zijverden, who both have two wins.
Only one point behind is the third in contention, the Tsunami RT car of the two Fernados from Spain, Pedrera and Navarrete. The leading quartet is composed of the Porsche of the Sanmarinese squad GDL Racing, with Giacomo Giubergia and Cássio H. de Mello, now driving together and each with one win.
Completing the Am field Brazilian driver Luis Souza, in the AF Motorsport car, the second GDL Racing car of the Brazilian Nelsons, Monteiro and Marcondes, and a new entry: Scuderia Emme will make its debut in the series with the only Ferrari at the start, a 488 Challenge for Alessandro Marchetti and the young female promise, Maia Meneghin.