Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz have secured the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers’ championship with one round still to run. Fourth place at the Nürburgring, confirmed only after two rivals were penalised post-race, left the Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER trio 27 points clear. A separate Mercedes-AMG car took the overall podium, and the brand also scored a one-two in the Bronze Cup.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport left the Nürburgring with the biggest prize of the weekend. In the three-hour Endurance Cup race, Lucas Auer (AUT), Maro Engel and Luca Stolz (both GER) of the Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER started seventh and were classified fourth — enough to wrap up the drivers’ title before the season finale.
A title decided after the flag
Auer crossed the line sixth in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3, but penalties issued against two rival cars once the race had finished moved the car up to fourth. That result put the trio 27 points clear at the top of the standings, making them mathematically uncatchable with one event to go. According to Mercedes-AMG, they are the first drivers in the history of the series to secure the Endurance Cup title early.
For Engel and Stolz it is a second endurance crown in the European series after 2018. Auer takes his first Endurance Cup title, having already won the overall and sprint standings in 2024 alongside Engel.
“I’m very happy to have taken my first Endurance Cup title. We will now keep giving everything to win the sprint and overall championships as well.” — Lucas Auer, Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER #48
First Endurance Cup podium for Verstappen Racing
The best Mercedes-AMG finish on the day went to Jules Gounon (AND), Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Christopher Lulham (GBR), who brought the Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing #3 home third after starting fifth. It is the squad’s first Endurance Cup podium, achieved in only its fourth race.
Repeated incidents brought a string of neutralisations, which pushed the outcome towards strategy and tyre management. The three Mercedes-AMG Performance cars took the flag fifth, sixth and seventh, and were classified third, fourth and fifth once the penalties were applied.
Pit-stop setback for GetSpeed
The Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed #17 of Maximilian Götz (GER), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Fabian Schiller (GER) had been the quickest of the eight Mercedes-AMG GT3s in qualifying and started second. The car lost that position at its second pit stop when the engine did not restart immediately, and it was classified fifth.
Schiller explained that he pressed the starter button while the car was still in the air, which the regulations do not allow, and that the engine took five seconds to fire once the car was back on the ground.
“They showed a very strong performance, earned a good starting position in qualifying and had bad luck at the second pit stop when the engine did not start immediately. That set the team back and took away their chance of a possible win.” — Stefan Wendl, Head of Customer Racing, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
Class wins in Bronze and a Silver Cup podium
Mercedes-AMG customer teams scored a one-two in the Bronze Cup. Reece Barr (IRL), Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss (both GBR) of 2 Seas Motorsport took class pole and converted it into the class win, with Marvin Dienst (GER), Gabriele Piana (ITA) and Rinat Salikhov second for Winward Racing. The #177 of Grupo Prom Racing Team finished 11th in the category.
In the Silver Cup, Anthony Bartone (USA), César Gazeau and Aurélien Panis (both FRA) placed third in class with the GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros #6. The GetSpeed Team Dubai #12 retired after contact with two rivals left it with tyre damage, an incident the team says was not of its making.
What it means for the rest of the season
The weekend leaves Mercedes-AMG leading the intercontinental manufacturers’ standings. Auer, Engel and Winward Racing are still in contention for the combined overall championship and the Endurance Cup teams’ title across the remaining three events.
Two sprint weekends follow at Zandvoort (18–20 September) and Barcelona (2–4 October), before the season closes with a three-hour race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão on 16–18 October.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com