41 Cars at Zandvoort as Bronze Cup Joins Field

Photo: JEP/SRO

Forty-one cars have been entered for the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup season at Zandvoort, with the grid growing in size significantly due to the addition of the Bronze Cup field.

Paddock space restrictions meant that the Bronze Cup cars were not part of the season opener at Brands Hatch earlier in May, meaning the twelve cars entered into the category with a mandatory Bronze-rated driver kick off their season at the Dutch seaside circuit.

The majority of new entries come from teams expanding upon their presence at Brands Hatch, with the likes of GRT Grasser Racing Team, Tresor Attempto Racing, Sainteloc Racing, Winward Racing, Comtoyou Racing and Paradine Competition all bringing extra cars.

Reigning Bronze Cup champions Darren Leung and Dan Harper notably make their series return in Paradise’s No. 991 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Christian Engelhart, meanwhile, is set for his first GTWC Europe start since recovering from knee surgery aboard the No. 1 Lamborghini, teaming up with former Porsche single-make racer Georgi Donchev.

Sainteloc Racing fields a third car under the QMMF by Sainteloc Racing banner, entered for the Qatari pairing of Ghanim Salah Al-Maadheed and Ibrahim Al-Abdulghani.

Notably, while CSA Racing fields the same number of McLaren 720S GT3 Evos compared to Brands Hatch, the No. 112 car has switched to the Bronze Cup as Isaac Tutumlu Lopez replaces James Kell alongside Arthur Rougier.

Kessel Racing, Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, Imperiale Racing and Lionspeed GP did not compete at Brands Hatch and will kick off their campaigns at Zandvoort, with the latter bringing a two-car Porsche entry headlined by Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus.

Kessel, meanwhile, has enlisted its regular pairing of Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall while Imperiale has had to adapt its lineup to find a new co-driver for Bronze driver Dmitry Gvazava.

Ugo de Wilde, who was Gvazava’s teammate last year, joined the BMW factory roster over the winter. Instead, Lamborghini works driver Loris Spinelli completes the lineup for the No. 85 Lamborghini.

Outside of the addition of the Bronze Cup entries, the field at Zandvoort only features one change compared to the Brands Hatch opener.

Reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 class winner Bijoy Garg has stepped into the lineup for the No. 76 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Garg replaces Daniel Ali to team up with Christian Bogle, with the car remaining a Silver Cup entry. A team spokesperson told Sportscar365 that Ali is due to return to the car at Valencia, with Garg completing the remaining rounds.