The International GT Open season came to an exciting conclusion at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Tom Emson and Tom Lebbon secured the overall championship for Elite Motorsport after a tense final race. The weekend also brought the TCR Europe title fight to its climax, with Monlau Motorsport’s Marco Butti emerging as champion.
The GT Open title went down to the final moments of Sunday’s 60-minute race. Zac Meakin and Dean Macdonald did everything they could in the Greystone GT McLaren, taking pole and securing a dominant victory, but third place for Emson and Lebbon in their Elite Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 was enough to clinch the championship by just one point. Pietro Armanni and Alex Fontana completed the race podium in the ZRS Motorsport Porsche.
There was plenty at stake in the supporting classes, too. Charlie Bateman and Henrique Chaves secured the Pro-Am title for Blackthorn Motorsport, while Joel Monegro claimed the Am championship with Fach Auto Tech. The season finale once again showed how closely contested the series can be, with several championships decided only in Barcelona.
The TCR Europe added another layer of drama to the weekend. Adam Shepherd took his maiden series victory in Saturday’s opening race, ahead of Mike Halder and Junesung Park, keeping the championship fight alive heading into Sunday.
The final race was even more chaotic. Junesung Park took victory for Solite Indigo Racing, while Marco Butti kept his composure amid the incidents to finish sixth — enough to secure the 2026 TCR Europe Drivers’ Championship. His closest rival, Halder, recovered to ninth, leaving Butti with an 11-point advantage in the final standings. Nicolas Taylor completed the race podium, while Monlau Motorsport also finished the season as Teams’ Championship winners.
With the GT Open, TCR Europe, GT Cup Europe and Euroformula Open all sharing the bill, Barcelona provided a busy end to the European racing season. The weekend delivered close racing across different categories and a fitting championship finale, with both the GT Open and TCR Europe titles decided at the final round.
Images by BoeckMotorsport
