The third round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season came to an end at the Magny-Cours circuit. Matteo Cairoli returned behind the wheel of the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO alongside Konsta Lappalainen in the Pro category.
On Saturday, it was the Finnish driver who took part in qualifying to determine the starting grid for Race 1. Lappalainen secured 41st place, setting the stage for a difficult race with the goal of making up positions. As darkness began to fall over the French circuit, he managed to gain five places before handing the car over to the Italian driver. Overtaking at Magny-Cours is notoriously difficult, but Cairoli continued his teammate’s strong recovery drive despite the challenges, climbing to 29th overall.
Cairoli’s qualifying performance was significantly stronger. The Italian posted a lap time of 1:36.919, earning 17th place on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. The Ferrari 296’s struggles were once again evident in Race 2, with Cairoli losing two positions at the start before remaining in the fight throughout the opening stint. Before handing the car back to Lappalainen, the race was interrupted by a red flag, with the pair running in 20th overall at the time. Cairoli took the restart before immediately pitting for the driver change, leaving the Finn to complete the weekend in 17th place, unfortunately outside the points.
The Lappalainen-Cairoli pairing was therefore unable to add to its championship tally and remains on seven points. The duo now sits 17th in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup standings ahead of the next round at Zandvoort on 19-20 September. Before then, Matteo Cairoli will return to action in the DTM on 16 August for the third-to-last round of the season.
Matteo Cairoli
“Unfortunately, we struggled here at Magny-Cours as well. We need to understand how to unlock the full potential of the car if we want to fight for stronger results. The team is giving everything to achieve that goal, and I’d like to thank them for all their efforts. I’d also like to thank my teammate Konsta for the weekend. Hopefully things will go better for us at Zandvoort.”
