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Verstappen Racing Claims First Overall GT World Challenge Win at Magny-Cours
Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella led from pole to secure a breakthrough victory at Magny-Cours, keeping Verstappen Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title hunt.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-08-02T08:50:00.000Z - 2 min read
Verstappen Racing converted pole position into a clean victory at Magny-Cours on Saturday evening, securing the team's first win of a challenging GT World Challenge Europe overall campaign. Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella led from start to finish in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3, completing 33 laps over the one-hour Sprint Cup contest. The result delivered a long-awaited breakthrough for the squad after months of bad luck.
Gounon set the foundation for the victory earlier in the day by securing pole position in qualifying. During the race, he and Juncadella managed their pace at the front without facing a sustained challenge from behind. They eventually took the checkered flag with a margin of roughly 2.5 seconds over the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO shared by Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer.
Kobe Pauwels and Nicki Thiim rounded out the podium positions in third place at the former French Grand Prix venue. For Verstappen Racing, the triumph marks their first outright victory since stepping up to the championship's top tier. The team captured the Gold class title last season before moving into the overall category for this campaign.
The transition to the highest class has been marred by repeated racing incidents that cost the team significant ground in the standings. Most of those setbacks occurred through external contact rather than driver error, hiding the underlying pace of the outfit. Whenever the car ran cleanly, the team demonstrated front-running potential.
Earlier in the season at Misano, Juncadella was taken out in a first-lap collision during the opening race through no fault of his own. The pairing demonstrated their resilience in the second race of that weekend by recovering to finish as runners-up. Saturday's flawless execution at Magny-Cours finally rewarded that persistent speed with a top step finish.
While the overall championship title is effectively out of reach due to lost points in the endurance events, the Sprint Cup title fight remains open. Juncadella sits second in the Sprint Cup drivers' standings on 42.5 points, trailing leaders Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts of Team WRT on 49.5 points. Gounon holds fifth position with 30.5 points.
With a second qualifying session and race scheduled for Sunday at Magny-Cours, Verstappen Racing has an immediate chance to capitalize on their winning form. Building further momentum could prove decisive as the Sprint Cup battle intensifies. Saturday's performance has given the squad a clear platform to pursue the title over the remainder of the season.