GT World Challenge: Conrad Laursen Takes Class Win at Paul Ricard

Danish triumph at Paul Ricard as Ferrari driver Conrad Laursen secured a Bronze Cup victory in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe.

It was a dream start to the GT World Challenge season for Conrad Laursen and the rest of the Kessel Racing team, who clinched the Bronze Cup win late Saturday evening in the season opener at Paul Ricard. The Dane shared the car with American driver Dustin Blattner and Germany’s Dennis Marschall, and although the Ferrari trio faced several challenges throughout the six-hour race, they managed to finish on the top step of the podium – and as the highest-placed Ferrari in all four classes.

“A fantastic start to the season for the whole team. It’s important to begin the year as strongly as possible, and we managed that this weekend. It wasn’t an easy race – we suffered front-end damage to our Ferrari early on, which set us back and made it difficult to stay consistent and maintain pace. And when the rain came during the final laps, things got a bit too exciting,” said Conrad Laursen, who personally dominated the Bronze Cup class during his two stints.

The Kessel Racing team had started from second place after a strong qualifying and went on to control the race, which began at 18:00 on Saturday evening and finished in darkness just before midnight. Rain hit the Paul Ricard circuit in the closing minutes, and with just a 1.5-second lead over the nearest challenger, Dennis Marschall expertly guided the team’s Ferrari through the slippery final laps to secure the win.

“It was nerve-racking, but we pulled it off – and that only made the victory even sweeter. The team did a fantastic job this weekend, made the right calls, and were super efficient in the pit lane. A huge congratulations to everyone,” said Laursen.

While Blattner and Marschall are full-season drivers in the Kessel Racing Ferrari, Conrad Laursen serves as the third driver in the Endurance Cup rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe. In addition to the Paul Ricard event, the Endurance Cup calendar includes three-hour races at Monza, Nürburgring, and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – and, of course, the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in June.

Next up for the 18-year-old Dane is the second round of the European Le Mans Series, also taking place at Paul Ricard on May 4, where Laursen will race for AF Corse.