Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella converted pole position into an outright victory at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on Saturday evening, steering the now-familiar #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to the team's first win of what has been a deeply frustrating GT World Challenge Europe campaign.
Verstappen Racing is no stranger to the GT World Challenge Europe, but this season marks its first campaign in the overall class, the championship's highest tier, having claimed the Gold class title last year.
The step up has been far from smooth. A series of incidents has blighted its results, and crucially, almost none of them have been the fault of the drivers themselves.
When the team has been left to race without interference, it has consistently been at the sharp end. Misano earlier in the season illustrated that perfectly.
Juncadella was collected in a first-lap incident in the opening race, a situation entirely beyond his control, yet he and Gounon recovered to finish second in the second race.
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Magny-Cours delivers the breakthrough — and title still in sight
At Magny-Cours, a circuit perhaps better known for hosting the French F1 Grand Prix between 1991 and 2008, the team went one better.
Gounon secured pole position in qualifying and, alongside Juncadella, controlled the race from the front without serious challenge.
After one hour of racing and 33 completed laps, the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 crossed the line first, with a margin of approximately 2.5 seconds over the #50 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO of Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer. The pairing of Kobe Pauwels and Nicki Thiim completed the podium in third.
A second qualifying session and race are scheduled for Sunday, giving Verstappen Racing an immediate opportunity to build on the momentum. Its Sprint Cup title challenge remains very much alive, and Saturday's result will do its standings no harm.
The overall championship, which incorporates the endurance rounds, is effectively beyond reach following the earlier run of setbacks.
The Sprint Cup, however, remains a realistic target, and Magny-Cours has given the team exactly the platform they needed to pursue it.
Check out the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup standings below!
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Standings
| # | Driver(s) | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kelvin van der Linde, Charles Weerts | Team WRT | 49.5 |
| 2. | Daniel Juncadella | Verstappen Racing | 42.5 |
| 3. | Maro Engel, Lucas Auer | Winward Racing | 40 |
| 4. | Arthur Leclerc, Thomas Neubauer | AF Corse | 33.5 |
| 5. | Ricardo Feller, Bastian Buus | Lionspeed GP | 30.5 |
| 5. | Jules Gounon | Verstappen Racing | 30.5 |
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