30 Cars for Brands Hatch Sprint Cup Opener

Photo: JEP/SRO

SRO Motorsports Group has released a 30-car entry list for the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup, which takes place at Brands Hatch.

Three out of four classes are represented for the first weekend of the season as Pro, Silver and Gold squads are set to do battle.

The Bronze Cup is absent due to paddock space constraints at the British circuit and will start its season at Zandvoort next month.

Ten manufacturers are represented on the entry list, marking a new record for Sprint Cup.

Chevrolet is present thanks to a single-car Silver entry for Steller Motorsport, with Matisse Lismont sharing the No. 24 Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Jesse Salmenautio.

The last previous appearance for a Corvette in Sprint Cup competition dates back to 2014, when two Callaway Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs joined for that year’s season finale in Baku.

The bulk of the Brands entry is made up by cars in the Pro category as reigning champions Lucas Auer and Maro Engel head up a 13-car field for the top class.

The Winward Racing pairing is joined in the Mercedes-AMG camp by the Boutsen VDS duo of Maxime Martin and Luca Stolz, while Team WRT, Rutronik Racing, Emil Frey Racing and Garage 59 all return.

New additions to the Pro ranks compared to last year include Walkenhorst Motorsport, AF Corse, GRT Grasser Racing Team, HRT Ford Performance and CSA Racing.

The latter fields a pair of McLaren 720S GT3 Evos as part of its new partnership with the Woking brand, spearheaded by a Pro entry for Simon Gachet and Jim Pla.

Arthur Rougier and James Kell, meanwhile, pilot the second McLaren as part of a six-car Gold Cup entry, although the No. 112 car will move to the Bronze Cup from Zandvoort onwards with Isaac Tutumlu Lopez driving alongside Rougier.

The rest of the Gold category notably includes the No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, which ran in Pro last year but moves classes as Thierry Vermeulen gets a new co-driver in the form of Chris Lulham.

Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus return with Sainteloc Racing after finishing second in the standings last year, while Tresor Attempto Racing has enlisted Sebastian Ogaard and Leonardo Moncini.

The class is rounded out by the No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren of Adam Smalley and Louis Prette as well as the No. 777 Al Manar Racing by WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo for Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann.

In Silver Cup, Calan Williams does not return to defend his crown with Team WRT, with the Belgian squad instead entering the No. 30 BMW for Gilles Stadsbader and Gustav Bergstroem.

Aurelien Panis and Cesar Gazeau are back with Boutsen VDS aboard the No. 10 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, while Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels team up aboard the No. 21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Notably, former European Le Mans Series LMP3 champion Marcos Siebert will make his GTWC Europe debut aboard the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari, teaming up with Jef Machiels.

The Argentinean, who has also competed in LMP2 with IDEC Sport, has gained GT3 experience through two seasons with Team Motopark in International GT Open.

Notably, two cars that appeared on the full season entry list (the No. 65 HRT Ford Performance Ford Mustang GT3 and No. 5 Optimum Motorsport McLaren) are absent from the Brands Hatch entry.