As 2025 heads towards the chequered flag, we've been looking back at some of the key incidents from GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. These are the moments that shaped the season.
LAMBORGHINI JOINS THE IMMORTALS
After more than a decade of near misses and heartbreak, Lamborghini finally wrote its name in CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa history by clinching a famous overall win. The Italian marque triumphed thanks to a truly masterful performance from the Grasser Racing trio of Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler, who beat the Rutronik Racing Porsche by just 8.7 seconds after a full day and night of competition.
RUTRONIK LEAVES IT LATE
If finishing as runner-up at Spa-Francorchamps was bittersweet, Rutronik made sure 2025 was a year to remember by conquering the Endurance Cup. The key move came just a few minutes before the final chequered flag of the season. Patric Niederhauser made the winning pass on Harry King's Aston Martin to secure the title – Porsche's first in GT World Challenge Europe – by a single point.
VAN DER LINDE'S TITLE-WINNER
The Sprint Cup was also decided by a final-race overtake. This time it was Kelvin van der Linde who made the winning pass, blasting past Jordan Pepper's Lamborghini in the deciding contest at Valencia to secure title glory for Team WRT. This was especially poignant as the two South Africans have been friends since childhood and are now competing together at the highest level of GT racing. Van der Linde and teammate Charles Weerts also earned the full-season drivers' title this year, capping a magnificent season for the BMW squad.
MCLAREN'S PERFECT FINISH
McLaren enjoyed a fantastic 2025, challenging for the Sprint Cup title and securing pole position for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. To finish the year in style, Garage 59 scored victory in the closing Endurance race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – and it did so with its Gold Cup crew of Louis Prette, Dean MacDonald and Adam Smalley.
ROSSI AND MARCIELLO LIGHT UP MISANO
Expectations were high when it was announced that Valentino Rossi and Raffaele Marciello would share a Team WRT BMW at Misano – and they didn't disappoint. Rossi qualified third – his best-ever grid position in Sprint – and Lello was running P2 after the pit stops. He stalked Vincent Abril's Ferrari like a hunter pursuing its prey, then made his decisive attack with just five minutes left on the clock.
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KESSEL RULES BRONZE CUP
The statistics don't lie: Kessel Racing was the most successful team across the 2025 season. The Swiss squad won every possible title in the Bronze Cup and added class honours at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa to complete a perfect campaign. Full-season drivers Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall were particularly fast in the Sprint Cup, the latter scoring a superb overall pole at Valencia.
LULHAM SHOWS NO FEAR
Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen were just as dominant in the Gold Cup, though they split their time between different teams in Sprint (Emil Frey Racing) and Endurance (Verstappen.com Racing). Harry King joined them for the latter and was part of the crew that clinched class honours at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. But the most memorable moment of the season came at Zandvoort, where Lulham banged wheels with teammate Konsta Lappalainen for the overall lead. Not bad for a sim racer contesting his first year of professional motorsport.
CORVETTE RETURNS
After more than a decade, the Chevrolet marque returned to the grid this season with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The American machine was run by newcomer Steller Motorsports, while GT World Challenge Asia front-runner JMR added a further entry at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Its best result came on debut, with the #24 crew scoring runner-up in the Silver class at Circuit Paul Ricard. Continuing the American theme, Ford also took a step forward this term, with the Mustang GT3 bagging an excellent P6 overall at the Nürburgring.
YOUNG GUNS MAKE THEIR MARK
Early in the Sprint Cup season, Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels did not appear to be contenders for the Silver title. But something seemed to click for the duo at Misano, where they bagged a first podium and then a maiden win. After that, there was no looking back. Their performance at Magny-Cours was especially impressive. Class victory and P7 overall in Race 1 was followed by a perfect showing in Race 2: pole, fastest lap and victory. Both have big futures ahead of them.
AN UNFORGETTABLE CROWDSTRIKE 24 HOURS OF SPA
Okay, the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa isn't a moment. In fact, it's thousands of moments – the parade, practice and qualifying, live music, fan activities, and of course the race – that come together to make the event what it is. We can't close 2025 without mentioning this year's edition, because it really was something special. After all, it drew an attendance of 128,000 across five days of world-class entertainment on and off the circuit, while the entry list set a new GT record of 75 cars. Next year promises to be every bit as spectacular – and you can already get your tickets.
