A huge opening-lap crash brought early chaos to the GT World Challenge Europe race at Monza, wiping out several GT3 contenders before the three-hour contest had even settled into rhythm.
The incident happened at Turn 1, one of the most crowded and high-risk braking zones on the calendar. A tightly packed field arrived at the first chicane, contact followed, and several cars were either damaged heavily or forced out of contention almost immediately.
The crash drew major attention because it involved front-running machinery, including entries that had been expected to fight near the sharp end of the race. The No. 3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car, driven by Daniel Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon, was among the cars later listed as not classified in the official race result.
Other cars also failed to make the finish after the chaotic start, underlining how costly the Turn 1 pile-up became for teams that had spent the weekend building toward a strong Monza result.
Most importantly, reports from the scene indicated that the drivers involved were okay, a relief given the scale of the crash and the number of GT3 cars caught up in the opening-lap collision.
The race eventually continued, with Tresor Attempto Racing’s No. 66 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II taking victory after completing 79 laps. Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER finished second, while CSA Racing completed the podium.
The full race classification is available through the official GT World Challenge Europe Monza results.
Monza is known for dramatic starts because of the long run into the first chicane, but this crash turned the opening moments into one of the most damaging starts of the GT World Challenge Europe season so far.
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