Endurance Cup battle resumes with mighty 59-car field confirmed for Monza

The historic Monza parkland will come to life next weekend when a 59-car field tackles the second round of the GT World Challenge powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

Among the most familiar circuits on the calendar, Monza has produced several memorable contests since staging its first event in 2011. Indeed, last year’s race was an all-time classic, with varied strategies creating an entirely unpredictable battle for victory.

Teams will once again be required to make a third mandatory pit stop this year, adding further intrigue to the three-hour race. And with the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa less than a month away, it will provide a final opportunity to prepare for the season’s marque event.

PRO: All eyes on BMW as Team WRT looks to go back-to-back

As always, the battle for overall honours promises to be extremely close this weekend. Team WRT is the pre-event favourite after the #32 BMW of Charles Weerts, Kelvin van der Linde and Ugo de Wilde swept to victory in the opening six-hour contest at Circuit Paul Ricard. The Belgian squad finished one-two at Monza last term, so confidence will be especially high. BMW has a second shot at victory thanks to Rowe Racing, which will field the experienced crew of Farfus/Krohn/Marciello.

Porsche looked strong at the opener and has an excellent shot at victory with Schumacher CLRT (Güven/Schuring/Ten Voorde) and Rutronik Racing (Müller/Niederhauser/Picariello). The Weissach marque has often been successful at Monza, taking outright wins in 2011, 2019 and 2021. Pure Rxcing bolsters its Pro line-up with the trio of Lietz/Malykhin/Preining.

Monza is the only circuit on the 2025 GT World Challenge calendar at which Mercedes-AMG is yet to score an overall victory. It has a great chance to set that right in 2025, with Pro crews from Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed (Gounon/Schiller/Stolz), Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter (Auer/Cairoli/Engel) and Boutsen VDS (Götz/Grenier/Martin). 

Perhaps the biggest surprise at the opening round was that AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors was not part of the fight for overall victory. The Ferrari powerhouse has everything it needs to bounce back, with Donno/Fuoco/Leclerc sharing the #50 car and Abril/Pier Guidi/Rovera in the #51. Lamborghini should also be strong at its home event: Grasser Racing continues with the trio Bortolotti/Engstler/Pepper, while rising star Mattia Michelotto joins established factory drivers Sandy Mitchell and Franck Perera in the VSR entry.

A further three brands will be represented by Pro cars at Monza, all of which are unchanged from the opening event in France. Aston Martin has line-ups at Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport, while McLaren (Garage 59) and Ford (HRT Ford Performance) can also deliver competitive performances in Italy.

GOLD & SILVER: Varied grids promise intense competition.

The Gold Cup grid continues to grow, with a new record high of 10 cars confirmed for Monza. McLaren squad CSA Racing won the opener with its trio of Gachet/Kell/Rougier, while Verstappen.com Racing impressed on its series debut with the #33 Aston Martin. AlManar Racing by WRT should also be competitive, with its line-up featuring last year's overall winner Jens Klingmann.

McLaren remains the car of choice in the Gold Cup. In addition to the CSA entry, British squads Garage 59, Optimum Motorsport and Team RJN will also field the 720S GT3 EVO. Four more brands are represented, with entries for Audi (Tresor Attempto Racing), Lamborghini (Paul Motorsport), Mercedes-AMG (Nordique Racing) and Porsche (Herberth Motorsport).

The Silver Cup field remains very strong with 17 cars set to contend for victory. Paradine Competition won the opening event with the line-up of Clark/Ebrahim/Kellett and should be strong again, along with fellow BMW runners Team WRT and Century Motorsport.

Steller Motorsport scored a brilliant debut podium with its Corvette and will have ambitions of going one better at Monza. Saintéloc Racing was third at Circuit Paul Ricard with its #26 Audi crew of Légeret/Lecertua/Klymenko, all of whom have already demonstrated their ability to compete at the front.

VSR dominated much of the opener with its Lamborghini and will aim to finish the job on home soil, while Barwell Motorsport and Grasser Racing will field further examples of the Huracán GT3 EVO2. Mercedes-AMG can also count on three Silver Cup cars, two from GetSpeed and another from Boutsen VDS.

Tresor Attempto Racing will field Italian ace Alberto di Floco among its #99 Audi crew, while Campegine-based Dinamic GT is also competing on home soil with its Porsche. The Silver Cup is completed by Aston Martin crews from Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport, as well as cars from HRT Ford Performance and CSA Racing.

BRONZE CUP: Kessel Ferrari favourite after stellar start to 2025

The season is still young, but Kessel Racing has emerged as the team to beat in the Bronze Cup after the #74 Ferrari of Blattner/Laursen/Marschall won in France. Il Cavallino Rampante will once again be the best-represented brand in this class, with a second Kessel entry joined by further cars from Rinaldi Racing, Ziggo Sport Tempesta, and AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors.

BMW Italia Ceccato Racing will fly the home flag at Monza. This may be the squad's first full season, but it has already made one-off appearances at the Temple of Speed in 2023 and 2024. Paradine Competition will also field BMW machinery and gives four-time BTCC champion Ashley Sutton his series debut alongside Darren Leung and Sean Gelael.

A further eight teams representing five brands will compete for Bronze Cup honours at Monza. Audi is represented by a trio of cars from Sainteloc Racing, the sister QMMF By Sainteloc Racing entry, and Tresor Attempto Racing, while Porsche also has three chances to with Lionspeed GP, Herberth Motorsport and Rutronik Racing. Single-car entries representing Aston Martin (Comtoyou Racing), Mclaren (Garage 59) and Mercedes-AMG (Winward Racing) complete a stacked 59-car field.

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