Walkenhorst Motorsport scores points at season opener

After a faultless performance, Walkenhorst Motorsport scored important points at the season opener of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

The 2025 season of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup got underway at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet with a six-hour race in the dark. Walkenhorst Motorsport entered two Aston Martin Vantage GT3 among the 59 GT3 cars taking part. The three Aston Martin factory drivers David Pittard, Henrique Chaves and Christian Krognes shared the team’s top car, while Romain Leroux, Mateo Villagomez and Oliver Söderström competed in the Silver Cup.

‘After an intensive preparation period over the winter months, the GT World Challenge Europe season finally got underway, in which we are contesting all ten events for the first time. This is a hugely important series for us, as the strongest teams and drivers in the international GT scene compete there. It is important for us that we represent Walkenhorst Motorsport strongly there,’ says team founder Henry Walkenhorst.

At the start of the race weekend, the Aston Martins struggled to keep up with the pace of the front runners. As a result, the Walkenhorst team’s top car qualified 17th on the grid. Before the race, the technical committee adjusted the car classification slightly, which benefited the Vantage GT3, among others.

With a faultless performance in the six-hour race on Saturday evening, Pittard, Chaves and Krognes were able to fight their way up a few positions in the strong field. In the end, the trio finished the race in eighth position at midnight after heavy rain set in just moments before the chequered flag, earning the drivers four important points for the championship.

The international Silver Cup trio started the race from 14th position in class and suffered a setback early on when the Aston Martin pitted after just a few minutes with a puncture at slow speed. The car was able to continue the race, but lost a lap as a result. After six hours of racing, Leroux, Villagomez and Söderström finished the race in twelfth place in the Silver Cup.

‘We are satisfied with eighth place for our Pro car, as we had a difficult starting position after qualifying. In this series, it is important to score points consistently and we did that. We have to be honest and say that we couldn’t quite match the speed of the top cars. It was super annoying for our Silver Cup car that it lost a lap in the first few minutes of the race due to the puncture, which we were unable to make up as it was a race without any major incidents or neutralisations. Without the tyre damage, we would definitely have had the potential for a good position in the points,’ says Managing Director Jörg Breuer, assessing the race in Le Castellet.

The GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS continues on the first weekend in May, when the Sprint Cup kicks off the 2025 season at Brands Hatch in the UK. Walkenhorst Motorsport will also be competing in the second round of the ADAC Nürburgring Endurance Series the week before.