+ Result: Race 1, Monza
Antoine Potty claimed the first win of a new era for the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, guiding his i4Race Maserati to victory over a record-breaking grid at Monza.
A 21-car field tackled the opening round of the season, which features new contenders, a new class, and the chance for some drivers to fight for a career-changing opportunity through the SRO GT Academy. Potty is among those eligible for this prize and made a strong impression with today's performance.
He didn't have it all his own way, however. Branden Oxley led the opening stint from pole aboard the #116 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG, with Potty keeping a watching brief behind and Štefan Rosina running third in the #18 LP Racing Maserati. All three are entered in the new Silver Cup class this term, with Potty the only one doing so as a solo driver.
They stayed this way throughout the opening stint – which was neutralised by a pair of safety cars – though as the pit window neared it was Potty’s Maserati that appeared to have a slight pace advantage.
This became incidental when the NM-run Mercedes-AMG suffered a slow stop due to Adrián Ferrer – who relieved Oxley at the controls – stalling the car. A clean service for Potty one lap later meant he was easily able to take the lead.
The NM car dropped to fourth overall behind Gerhard Tweraser, who had taken over the #18 Maserati from Rosina, and the #111 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG of Jay Mo Härtling. The latter led the Pro-Am class after replacing David Thilenius at the controls and quickly cruised up to Tweraser's rear bumper.
This would be the major battle of the second half of the race, with Härtling doing everything possible to overhaul the Maserati and set off in pursuit of Potty. But Tweraser used his vast experience of high-level GT racing to keep the young German at bay, deftly positioning his car into the chicanes to prevent a pass.
Out front, Potty was able to pull away from the duelling duo to clinch the win by 5.7 seconds and set out his stall as a Silver Cup title contender. The Rosina/Tweraser Maserati was second overall and in class, while the Thilenius/Härtling Mercedes-AMG completed the overall podium and claimed the first Pro-Am win of 2026.
Ferrer and Oxley came home fourth, with the sister NM Mercedes-AMG of Alberto De Martin/Nil Montserrat taking fifth and the second step on the Pro-Am podium.
There seems to be nothing that will keep Philippe Prette from winning aboard his #1 LP Racing Maserati. The back-to-back Am champion suffered a heavy crash on Thursday which forced him to switch to a back-up car, but neither this nor an influx of new rivals – and a change of class name from Am to Masters – could prevent him from standing on the top step of the podium.
Prette did the hard work in the first stint by passing early leader Ondrej Rokos (RTR Projects Mercedes-AMG). From there the Monegasque was untroubled, ultimately finishing sixth overall in his Maserati – which, following the chassis change, carried an unfamiliar red colour scheme.
The biggest hard-luck story of the race was the #8 LP Racing Maserati. Thomas Yu Lee comfortably led the Pro-Am class during the opening phase, even getting among the Silver drivers, only for a problem with the car's door to halt its progress during the second half. Without this issue, Niccoló Pirri could well have fought Härtling for the class win.
The second race of the weekend takes place at 11:15 CEST on Sunday.