Comtoyou Racing arrives at Monza this weekend as the team to beat, the Belgian outfit leading the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup standings after a dramatic season opener at Circuit Paul Ricard. The 3 Hours of Monza — round two of the Endurance Cup campaign — takes place on Sunday.
From Paul Ricard to Monza
The #007 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Nicki Thiim, Marco Sørensen and Mattia Drudi snatched victory at Paul Ricard with eight minutes remaining, capitalising on a late Safety Car that wiped out the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER’s 15-second lead in an instant. Lucas Auer ran wide at Signes under pressure from Thiim, and that was that — Aston Martin’s first series win since the 2024 Spa 24 Hours secured in the closing laps. The MANN-FILTER crew of Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz settled for second after dominating for the better part of the race, and they head to Monza eight points adrift of Comtoyou in the standings.
The #48 will be one of the favourites for a win at a circuit where Auer and Engel know how to get the job done — the duo triumphed here last year alongside Matteo Cairoli. But they won’t be short of competition. The #59 Garage 59 McLaren of Joseph Loake, Dean MacDonald and Marvin Kirchhöfer finished second at Monza in 2025, while the #007 themselves completed that podium. The #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche of Bastian Buus, Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller was a genuine threat at Paul Ricard before a mechanical problem ended its race in the fourth hour, and the Porsche will be looking for a clean run this time around. Team WRT’s #32 BMW of Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts and ROWE Racing’s #98 of Augusto Farfus, Jake Dennis and Raffaele Marciello are further names to watch, as is the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, Nicklas Nielsen and Tommaso Mosca — a car with the firepower for a home win and points to make up after a difficult opener. Valentino Rossi will be hoping to add to the occasion in the #46 Team WRT BMW alongside Daniel Harper and Max Hesse.
Entry list
Fifty-seven cars are entered across the four classes, with 17 in the Pro category. The #18 Comtoyou Aston Martin — which made a one-off appearance at Paul Ricard with a lineup headed by Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll — does not return, leaving the Belgian squad’s Monza challenge centred on the #007.
A handful of changes to note: Thomas Kiefer has replaced Chandler Hull in the #60 JMW Motorsport Ferrari, while Jason Hart and Scott Noble, who drove the GetSpeed-run #67 Mercedes at Paul Ricard, have stepped away from that entry ahead of next month’s 24 Hours of Spa with 2 Seas Motorsport. Lorcan Hanafin returns to the #56 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin having missed Paul Ricard due to a clash with his ELMS campaign, and Jonathan Hui rejoins the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche. Sven Müller makes his first Endurance Cup appearance of the year in the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche, having been ruled out of the opener by a Super GT clash. The #914 Razoon Porsche and the two Tresor Attempto Racing Audis still carry TBA driver listings.
In the Gold Cup, Josh Rowledge makes his Endurance Cup debut alongside Christian Hahn in Paradine Competition’s #992 BMW, while teammate Robert De Haan has switched to the squad’s Bronze-entered #991. The #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Fleming, Prette and Goethe — which finished on the overall podium at Paul Ricard — will look to extend its class advantage, and the #71 Selected Car Racing Ferrari of Frederik Schandorff, Malte Ebdrup and Simon Birch will also be worth watching after a strong showing in France.
Silver Cup leader Pure Rxcing brings its #9 Porsche of Aleksei Nesov, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Max Hofer, and faces competition from four McLarens across as many teams, the #30 Team WRT BMW and the #21 Comtoyou Aston Martin among others. In Bronze, Rutronik Racing’s #97 is the defending winner here and arrives fresh off a dominant Paul Ricard victory — Müller’s addition to the Au and Pera lineup only strengthens the hand.
Last Year at Monza
The 2025 edition was one of the more chaotic races in recent Endurance Cup memory. Eight Full Course Yellow periods reshaped the running order repeatedly, and only 42 of the 58 starters were classified at the finish. The #48 MANN-FILTER Mercedes of Engel, Matteo Cairoli and Auer took the overall win — a first Endurance Cup victory at Monza for Mercedes-AMG — after a perfectly timed pit stop during a mid-race FCY leapfrogged the car past the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes, which had led from pole before Luca Stolz left the pits with a loose wheel and was forced to retire. Garage 59’s #59 McLaren finished second overall, with the #007 Comtoyou Aston completing the podium having also benefitted from the FCY window.
Gold Cup honours went to AlManar Racing by WRT’s #777 BMW, while the Silver Cup was claimed by the #42 Century Motorsport BMW — now running as Oman Racing by Century Motorsport — after a decisive move by Mex Jansen in the closing stages. Bronze went to the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche, the duo of Antares Au and Loek Hartog securing the class win despite running as a two-man crew.
When and Where
On-track action begins Saturday with Free Practice 1 at 09:00 CEST, followed by Free Practice 2 at 14:25. Sunday brings Qualifying at 09:50 and the race at 15:30 CEST. Both qualifying and the race will be broadcast live on the GT World YouTube channel.