The nine stars of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe

There will be nine manufacturers represented on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS this year, which got underway at Paul Ricard during the first weekend of April.

The championship, organised by SRO and supplied exclusively by Pirelli, has put together a grid of 55 cars for the Endurance series and 38 cars for the Sprint series this year. There are nine GT3 manufacturers on the grid (one more than last year) contesting a total of 10 rounds: five Endurance events and five Sprint events. Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ford, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche will do battle in three categories: the Gold Cup, Silver Cup and Bronze Cup.

All will use Pirelli's P Zero DHF tyres, which were redesigned two years ago to meet all the needs of the different GT cars with just a single product. The compound guarantees excellent grip and durability, with a wide working range – especially in warmer temperatures – while the construction allows for greater performance than in the past, optimally balancing the grip between front and rear axles.

Aston Martin fields the latest generation of the Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, which has set records in both endurance and sprint racing in the past. The Comtoyou Racing team has four cars in the Sprint Cup and four in the Endurance Cup, where three cars from Walkenhorst Motorsport are also in the running.

Audi is the manufacturer with the most entries in the Sprint Cup. The R8 LMS GT3 Evo II is represented by four cars from Tresor Attempto Racing, two from Sainteloc Racing and one from Concept Sport Automobile Racing. All the cars will compete in both the Sprint and Endurance Cups.

Four entries in the Sprint Cup and six in the Endurance Cup for BMW with the M4 GT3. The WRT team, which also includes Valentino Rossi, has entered three cars for the endurance races and one for the sprint events at Brands Hatch and Misano. The remaining BMWs are fielded by ROWE Racing, winner of the Spa 24 Hours in 2023, and Century Motorsport.

There are six Ferrari 296 GT3s in the Sprint Cup, and five in the Endurance Cup. Six teams fly the flag for Maranello: AF Corse, Emil Frey Racing, Kessel Racing, Racing Team Turkey, Rinaldi Racing and Sky Tempesta Racing, which returns with a Ferrari following a previous Mercedes association.

The Ford Mustang GT3 makes its championship debut, competing in both series with a car run by the Proton Competition team. It's a big return to the full GTWC Europe for Ford after the American constructor's previous experience at the Spa 24 Hours in 2012.

Like Ferrari, Lamborghini has six different teams. The Huracan GT3 Evo2s in the Sprint and Endurance Cups are run by Barwell Motorsport, Grasser Racing, GSM, Imperiale Racing, Iron Lynx and Liqui Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup.

Garage 59 and Optimum Motorsport have both chosen a 720S GT3 Evo for the 2024 season. McLaren, which triumphed at Spa last year in the Gold category, has two entries in the Sprint series and four in the Endurance series.

Mercedes-AMG is the most popular brand in the championship. Seven teams use the AMG GT3 Evo, with 16 cars in the Sprint and Endurance Cups. In the Sprint, there are a couple of cars from Boutsen VDS, a couple from Windward Racing and one from Mad Panda Motorsport. The remaining 11 cars in the Endurance category are from GetSpeed, AlManar Racing by GetSpeed, HRT, and 2 Seas Motorsport.

The Stuttgart-based manufacturer Is represented in the Sprint Cup with a total of four 911 GT3 Rs, lined up by Rutronik Racing, Schumacher CLRT and Dinamic GT. The same teams are also present for Porsche in the Endurance category, alongside Lionspeed GP, Herberth Motorsport and VSI Greico Spektras.