Emil Frey Racing crowns strong Zandvoort weekend with victory and two podium finishes in the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup

Fast Facts – The Press Bulletin
A weekend to celebrate for Emil Frey Racing at the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup in Zandvoort. On Saturday, Ben Green fought the #69 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo onto the podium, securing the team's first podium finish since Brands Hatch. On Sunday came the big moment: pole position, a one-two lead and ultimately victory for the #69 Ferrari, with the sister car, number 14, taking third place. For Thierry Vermeulen it was a special triumph on home soil, the first by a Dutch driver since 2014.

Press Release
The Circuit Zandvoort played host to the penultimate round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Sprint Cup this weekend and Emil Frey Racing finally delivered the results the team had long deserved after a difficult season.

Race 1 – Saturday, 19th September 2026
Qualifying could hardly have gone more differently for the two Ferraris. While Thierry Vermeulen qualified the #69 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo ninth at his home race, teammate Matteo Cairoli could manage no better than 30th on the grid in the #14 sister Ferrari.

At the start, the #69 Ferrari gained two positions, while the #14 Ferrari lost ground in the chaotic scramble. After a Safety Car in lap 3 bunched the field back up, Matteo Cairoli seized the opportunity at the restart and made up a position. Until his pitstop in lap 16, Thierry Vermeulen was under constant pressure from the #50 Ferrari, but the Dutchman kept a cool head. Ben Green took over the number 69 car and rejoined the race in eleventh position.

Matteo Cairoli came into the pits one lap later and handed over to Konsta Lappalainen, who worked his way past the #93 Porsche with a fine overtaking move shortly after the stop, gaining a position. Meanwhile, tight battles for position intensified around the two Emil Frey Racing Ferraris: Ben Green found himself closely trailing the #914 and #80 Porsches for lap after lap, while Konsta Lappalainen had rivals both ahead of and behind him. Ben Green watched the duel between the two Porsches for several laps before seizing his moment and passing both simultaneously at Turn 1. The #69 Ferrari claimed third place and with it the team's first podium since Brands Hatch, and on Thierry Vermeulen's home race no less.

Konsta Lappalainen held his position to the finish and came home in a respectable 16th place.

Race 2 –  Sunday, 20th September 2026
In Sunday morning's second qualifying session, Emil Frey Racing made the most of its potential: pole position for the #14 with Konsta Lappalainen at the wheel, and teammate Ben Green putting the number 69 car on third.

The strength of the Ferraris was evident from the start, as Konsta Lappalainen held the lead out front while Ben Green simultaneously moved up to second. Following an early Safety Car, the two Emil Frey Racing Ferraris pulled away at the front and soon established a solid gap to the #58 McLaren in third.

Shortly afterwards, a Full-Course-Yellow was called out, though it ended very quickly, perhaps too quickly, as Konsta Lappalainen lost his momentum and teammate Ben Green seized his chance, taking the lead in the intra team battle. The #69 Ferrari was in a different league and quickly opened a gap of nearly four seconds before Ben Green, having set the fastest lap up to that point, headed for the pits.

While Thierry Vermeulen inherited the lead in the #69, Konsta Lappalainen came into the pits, and the team lost a position to the #80 Porsche. Matteo Cairoli was not about to give up though. He set the fastest race lap and closed in on the Porsche. In the end, the #14 Ferrari held on for third place, a satisfying result despite starting from pole, and the car's first podium of the year after a difficult season.

For car number 69, it was the first win of the season and a truly special moment for Thierry Vermeulen, who became the first Dutch driver since 2014 to win a race on home soil in Zandvoort.

TEAM QUOTES – Emil Frey Racing

Lorenz Frey-Hilti (Team Principal)
"It was a very good weekend overall. On Saturday we didn't extract our full potential in qualifying, particularly with the #14 Ferrari. But in the race itself we were solid, with good pitstops and strong overtaking moves. On Sunday we got everything right: a strong qualifying as a foundation, intensive overnight work, and drivers who executed the changes perfectly. It's a shame we lost second place in the pitstop, but that's the challenge when you only have room for one car at a time. Still, first and third are naturally an excellent result."

Jürg Flach (Technical Director)
"On Friday in practice we saw that we had the potential to run at the front. Unfortunately, not everything came together in qualifying yesterday, so the conditions for Saturday's race weren't quite what we expected. Even so, we managed a podium finish with the number 69. On Sunday almost everything went right. P1 and P3 in qualifying, as well as in the race, showed our strength. I'm very happy with this excellent result and proud of the whole team."

DRIVER QUOTES – Emil Frey Racing

Matteo Cairoli (Italy)
"In the end we're all delighted with this result as a team. The #69 Ferrari was the stronger car, but we're still proud of our own performance too. We could have won today, but third place is also very special, as it's our first podium of the season. I'm really very happy, the car feels better every time we go out. Thanks to everyone, because what the guys are delivering is fantastic. We go again in Barcelona."

Konsta Lappalainen (Finland)
"After a difficult situation, third place is a very good result for everyone on the team. I'm also delighted about our sister car's win. On top of that, I was able to take my first pole position in the GT World Challenge. Today we showed that we can run at the front and that we're capable of fighting for wins."

Thierry Vermeulen (Netherlands)
"We had a great performance all weekend. We showed that yesterday with third place and today with the win. I think we were the faster car here in Zandvoort. My thanks go to the whole team. Everyone works so hard, it's been a really tough year for us, but we never gave up. We knew Zandvoort was a track that suits us and we made the most of it."

Ben Green (Great Britain)
"I'm very happy with today's results, and overall, we all showed really good performances this weekend. It's great to see how the team has come back after a difficult start to the season. I'm proud of everyone's efforts, on and off the track, and giving this team a win is a fantastic feeling. A big thank you to everyone involved, and I'm really looking forward to the next race in two weeks."

ABOUT EMIL FREY RACING

Emil Frey Racing is a storied Swiss motorsport team based in Safenwil. Founded in the 1960s on the foundations of the Emil Frey Group, the team can look back on decades of motorsport experience, ranging from single-seater and rally racing to long-distance GT series. Today, Emil Frey Racing competes internationally, currently in both the DTM and the GT World Challenge with the Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.