• Audi R8 wins again as Aka/Pereira prevail in rain-hit Spanish contest
• Feller/Buus on brink of title after runner-up finish for Lionspeed GP Porsche
• AF Corse seals Gold Cup crown despite penalty for Mosca/Zagazeta
• Optimum back on top in Silver with Porter/Olivieira
• Dempsey/Cheever close on Bronze title with third staright win
FINAL RESULT: RACE 1
Tresor Attempto Racing took victory in a dramatic Sprint Cup contest at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while Lionspeed GP is on the brink of claiming the series drivers' title after finishing second to the victorious Audi.
The #99 machine of Dylan Pereira and Alex Aka started from 14th overall and was not a major factor during the first phase of the race, which played out amid heavy rain at the Spanish circuit. It was Bastian Buus who took the start from pole aboard the #80 Lionspeed GP entry, but the Dane was immediately passed by Kiern Jewiss (#222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG).
Buus continued to struggle and slipped down the order, while Dennis Marschall (#74 Kessel Racing Ferrari) was heading in the opposite direction. The German rapidly went from seventh to second and then challenged Jewiss for the lead. The Brit fought off his first attack – losing a portion of the AMG's rear bumper in the process – but could not resist Marschall's second attempt.
The other star of the opening phase was Lucas Auer, who made incredible progress from 20th on the grid to challenge for a spot in the top five. Indeed, at the halfway point the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG looked a strong bet for the win.
But the race was upended by a red flag, which was shown a little after the 30-minute mark due to worsening track conditions. This was a made even more complicated by the fact that half the field had made their mandatory pit stops and half had not. The latter camp included the Bronze Cup and Silver Cup runners, who effectively took their pit stops under the red flag.
Thus, at the restart, the #74 Ferrari – now driven by Constantin Dresser – led from the #222 Mercedes-AMG of Charles Dawson and Darren Leung in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW. The #99 Audi was seventh with Aka at the wheel, while Ricardo Feller ran eighth in the #80 Porsche.
Within a few laps the #2 Boutsen VDS Porsche had taken the lead, though Dorian Boccolacci had to pick his way through the Bronze cars before hitting the front; Dressler in particular was impressive as he fought off the pro drivers. Boccolacci's lead proved to be short lived, with the #2 Porsche receiving a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release from its pit stop.
This brought Aka to the front, the experienced German having followed the Boutsen VDS Porsche through the pack. This included a pass on Maro Engel, who could not replicate Auer's performance from the opening phase. Feller also cut through the Bronze Cup cars to run second and looked to have a slight pace advantage over Aka.
But it was not enough to deny Tresor Attempto a brilliant victory, the first overall win for both Aka and Pereira. Feller was second, ensuring that he and Buus have all but wrapped up the Sprint Cup drivers' title. Third went to the #63 Rutronik Racing Lamborghini, which banked a second podium finish of the season thanks to Luca Engstler and Patric Niederhauser.
Garage 59 was fourth with its #59 McLaren, followed by the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche, which scored a third successive class win and is on the cusp of clinching its title. Dempsey was among the stars of the closing phase, fighting with the pro drivers to clinch a fantastic result. The #74 Ferrari and the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG completed the class podium.
Sixth overall went to the penalised #2 Porsche, followed by the #48 Mercedes-AMG, and the #77 KPX Racing BMW. The latter was second in the Gold Cup to the #99 Audi and clinched by far the best result of the Dutch squad's debut season. The #74 Ferrari and the #32 Team WRT BMW completed the overall top 10.
Optimum Motorsport claimed the Silver Cup win thanks to Mikey Porter and Guilherme Oliveira, who finished P23 overall to return to the top step for the first time since the opener at Brands Hatch. The #52 AF Corse Ferrari and the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche completed this podium.
The #51 AF Corse Ferrari received a post-race penalty for contact, relegating the car to P7 in class, but was still able to clinch the Gold Cup crown with a race to spare. Tommaso Mosca and Matias Zagazeta will therefore race without pressure in tomorrow's finale.
The concluding race of the 2026 Sprint Cup season is scheduled to take place on Sunday and will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel. However, due to heavy rain at the track, the timetable remains subject to change. For more information please click here.