The Paul Ricard circuit was the scenario of the inaugural race in the 2025 season of the GT World Challenge Europe by AWS – Endurance Cup. For this edition, the event returns to its traditional 6-hour format – for a total of approximately 1000 km to cover – after the race last season was held over a distance of 3 hours. Matteo Cairoli continues its 2025 defending the Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, but this time set its debut with Winward Racing, the reigning champion team of the GT World Challenge Europe, flanked by Lucas Auer and Maro Engel.
The iconic “Yellow Mamba” livery – which celebrates 10 years this season – started from pole position, thanks to the combined time of the three drivers in 1:53.712, worth the first start from pole of the season by 0.123s. It is also worth noticing that in his session Cairoli topped the standings, despite his first qualifying session ever with this car and the arrival of annoying drops of rain on the track. For the Como driver, this is the second consecutive pole position on the Le Castellet circuit. Maro Engel took the start of the race, defending the lead until the end of his opening stint of the race, slipping to 5th place after the first waltz of pit stops. An unlucky stop as the #48 missed the opportunity to pit under Full Course Yellow – the first of the day – by a handful of meters. After 2 hours, it was Cairoli’s turn, who got into the car at dusk, the most scenic and characteristic moment at Paul Ricard. However, the weather conditions outside the car did not help the performance of the three-pointed star, which had to face greater difficulties with the drop in temperature.
Cairoli completed a double stint, driving the first on used tyres in 5th position, just behind the first Mercedes on the track (then penalised with a drive-through). In his second stint, however, the 1996-born driver took 3rd position, recording the best time of the crew in 1:55.507, also being the fastest on the track for long stretches. Despite this, the gap to recover from the race leaders amounted to over 20 seconds. Lucas Auer finished the race, after Matteo Cairoli left the reins of the wheel with 1 hour and 52 minutes to go, maximising the driving time of his stint time. The Austrian struggled in the final part of the race, when the temperatures on the track had dropped dramatically, finishing in 4th position, one step away from the overall podium, just 3 seconds away.
This is only the first of five races in the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup, but a result that will satisfy Matteo Cairoli as he embarks on his third adventure with a new manufacturer, following his experiences with Porsche and Lamborghini. The Como native will be back on track with the AMG GT3 EVO in the FIA WEC, for the second round of the championship, which will be at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola next weekend.
Matteo Cairoli
“I am pleased with the continuous progress I am making on the car. It is a shame to have missed the podium for the second year in a row after a fantastic pole, but compared to last year the conditions today were definitely more complicated. The team has done an exceptional job since testing and I can’t wait to get back on track with Maro and Lucas”.
