Weekend Notebook: Ferrari triumphs with Neubauer, Arthur Leclerc and Serra

Maranello, 04 May 2026 - Ferrari claimed its first GT World Challenge Europe Sprint victory of the season at Brands Hatch, with official drivers Thomas Neubauer and Arthur Leclerc. The Maranello manufacturer also claimed victory in the European Le Mans Series at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, with official driver Daniel Serra in the spotlight. Class wins and podium finishes also came in IMSA at Laguna Seca, in the Le Mans Cup at Le Castellet, and in GT World Challenge Asia in Indonesia.

GTWC Europe. The Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo made an outstanding debut in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint at Brands Hatch. In Race-1, Ferrari official drivers Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer triumphed in the number 50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo after starting from second on the grid. After a red flag to repair the barriers, Leclerc held second until the driver change, handing over to Neubauer, who crossed the line in the same position before inheriting victory when the car ahead was penalised. Fifth place went to the number 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, crewed by Konsta Lappalainen and Matteo Cairoli. The number 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, driven by Ferrari official driver Tommaso Mosca and Matias Zagazeta, finished seventh overall and took Gold Cup honours. The second Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, the number 69 of Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen, finished tenth. Finally, the two Silver-class cars fielded by AF Corse were placed ninth and tenth respectively, with Jef Machiels–Gilles Stadsbader in the number 52 and Carl Bennett–Felix Hirsiger in the number 71.

In Race-2, the Prancing Horse cars were less prominent in the overall standings, with Lappalainen–Cairoli in the number 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo finishing ninth, the best result. The Swiss team’s other car, shared by Green–Vermeulen, arrived two places further back, while Race-1 winners Leclerc–Neubauer came home fifteenth. Just behind them were Belgians Machiels–Stadsbader in the number 52 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, third in the Silver class. Mosca–Zagazeta’s nineteenth place earned them second in the Gold class. Finally, Bennett–Hirsiger were 22nd overall and sixth in the Silver class.

GT World Challenge Europe returns to the track for the official 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps test on 19–20 May, while the three-hour Monza Endurance race is held over the weekend of 29–31 May.

IMSA. Ferrari scored its third consecutive podium in IMSA SportsCarChampionship GTD competition, with Inception Racing taking third in Sunday’s Monterey SportsCar Classic at Laguna Seca.

Frederik Schandorff took third with 11 minutes remaining and held the position in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. Sixth with 70 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute event, Schandorff with starting co-driver Brendan Iribehad their second straight strong finish, following fourth place on the streets of Long Beach in April.

AF Corse USA started Ferrari’s podium streak with a GTD victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, while Conquest Racing placed third at Long Beach.

Meanwhile at Laguna Seca, Conquest Racing started strong before the Eric Bachelart-led effort had a heartbreaking change of fortune. Lorenzo Patrese captured the GTD class pole in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo and led throughout his opening shift. 

Patrese was subbing for regular driver Manny Franco, who missed the event due to a schedule conflict.

Albert Costa took over with one hour, 52 minutes remaining and immediately cycled back into the class lead. However, fire began spewing from the right-side exhaust. Costa returned to the pits on the next lap, with the problems quickly diagnosed as terminal, and a promising day was suddenly over.

The GTD class is not participating in the next IMSA round, the Detroit Sports Car Classic on the streets of Motor City. However, six Ferraris are expected for the following event – the Six Hours at Watkins Glen on June 28.

ELMS. The Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo triumphed in the second round of the European Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Le Castellet. The number 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, featuring Prancing Horse official driver Daniel Serra alongside Takeshi Kimura and Mathys Jaubert, crossed the line first. Third place went to another Ferrari, the number 86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Michael Wainwright, Lorcan Hanafin and Mex Jansen, which inherited the podium after a penalty for the number 55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Duncan Cameron, David Perel and Matt Griffin, who were classified fourth. The number 51 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Davide Rigon, Charles-Henri Samani and Conrad Laursen, which had also been in contention for a podium finish, was disqualified. The number 50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Custodio Toledo, Riccardo Agostini and Ferrari official driver Lilou Wadoux also retired, as did the number 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Andrew Gilbert, Fran Rueda and Romain Leroux.

The next European Le Mans Series round takes place at Imola on 5 July.

Le Mans Cup. Alongside the ELMS, the Le Mans Cup also returned to the track with its traditional two-hour race format. The GT3 class saw a Prancing Horse one-two, with Lorenzo Ferdinando Innocenti and David Cleto Fumanelli in the number 17 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo taking victory. Second place went to the number 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of reigning champions Alessandro Cozzi and Eliseo Donno, while the second Kessel Racing Ferrari, driven by Oscar Lee Ryndziewicz and Lorenzo Ferrari, finished just off the podium. Eighth place went to the number 88 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Rey Acosta III and Marco Bonanomi, while the number 23 Biogas Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra, finished in ninth.

The Le Mans Cup returns to the track on the weekend of 4–5 July at Imola.

GTWC Asia. The Ferrari cars had a positive weekend at the second round of GT World Challenge Asia at the Indonesian circuit of Mandalika. In Race-1, local driver Sean Gelael, competing solo in the number 50 Garage 75 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, was a standout, taking pole position and dominating the opening stint before finishing in third place overall and second in the Silver class. The number 72 Winhere Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Song Jiajun and Brendon Leitch also claimed a class podium, finishing ninth overall and third in Pro-Am. The number 96 Winhere Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Deng Yi and Liu Kaishun, finished 14th overall and fifth in the Silver class, while the number 13 33R Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Sun Jingzu and Adderly Fong finished 17th overall and fourth in the Silver-Am class.

Race-2 on Sunday saw the four Ferraris engaged in close battles in the early stages, with the professional drivers at the wheel, before a collision put Sean Gelael out of contention. The number 96 of Deng–Liu was the best-placed at the finish, eighth overall and second in the Silver class, while the number 72 of Song–Leitch finished 12th overall and sixth in Pro-Am. Just behind came the number 13 of Sun–Fong, which nonetheless secured a strong second place in the Silver-Am class.

The next GT World Challenge Asia round takes place from 4 to 6 June at the Shanghai circuit in China.

Super GT. The second round of the championship at Fuji Speedway concluded on Monday 4 May – a Japanese national holiday – with three Maranello cars in action, all finishing outside the top ten in the three-hour race. The best-placed was the number 7 CARGUY Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, shared by Zak O'Sullivan, Kiyoshi Umegaki and Reimei Ito. The number 6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS Ferrari 296 GT3, driven by Yoshiaki Katayama and Niklas Krütten, finished twenty-third, while the number 45 PONOS entry, with Kei Cozzolino and Takuro Shinohara, was forced to retire.

The next round of the series is scheduled for 20 and 21 June at the Sepang International Circuit.

04 maggio 2026