PRAGUE, Czech Republic— The second live event of the 2024 Gran Turismo World Series took place on Saturday, August 10 in the picturesque city of Prague, Czech Republic. Drivers representing 12 of the world’s top-ranked manufacturers, including Official Partners Toyota, Genesis, and Mazda, gathered for Round 2 at the sold-out Divadlo Hybernia venue, a historic theater located in the heart of the historic city.

This year’s format is different from last year, as each manufacturer is represented by a team of three drivers, one from each Region of the Online Qualifiers. One driver will shoulder the driving duties for each round. Only for the World Finals will we see all three drivers team up for each manufacturer team.

In Round 1, held in Montreal, Canada, Team Lexus set the pace with a dominant performance, led by former Nations Cup champion Igor Fraga. This time, it was two-time Nations Cup champion Coque López (coquelopez14) behind the wheel of the Lexus RC F race car, determined to keep the winning streak alive for the team.

Grand Final: Red Bull Ring

Qualifying session proved as fierce as ever for the Grand Final of the Manufacturers Cup, but it was Team Ferrari that surprised everyone in attendance at Divadlo Hybernia by taking pole position. The spotlight was on rookie Mohamed Buhdeima (PRiMA_Mohamed) from the UK, who made an astonishing debut behind the wheel of the Ferrari 458 Italia race car. But it wasn’t just his speed that left everyone in awe—this was his first live event! Lining up beside him was another fresh face, Hungary's Benjamin Hencsei (IGTSH_Szotyi42x), piloting a striking green Porsche 911 RSR. The second row saw the formidable Mercedes-AMG GT3, driven by the UK’s Daniel Fenton (Dstinct_Fento107), with pre-season favorite Kylian Drumont (R8G_Kylian19) of France taking the P4 spot in his Subaru BRZ GT300. The race began under dramatic conditions, as rain descended on the track, compelling all drivers to equip wet tires.

Defending Nations Cup champions Pol Urra (PolUrra), Jose Serrano (TDG_JOSETE), and López from last year’s victorious Spanish team were poised for action in their Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Concept, Toyota GR Supra, and Lexus RC F GT3, respectively. All eyes were on pre-race favorite López, who endured a disastrous qualifying session and found himself starting from the very back of the grid. Yet, everyone knew that López was not one to be underestimated—an audacious move was surely on the horizon.

The race began with a flawless rolling start, every car navigating Turn 1 without incident despite the treacherously wet conditions. But it wasn’t long before the slick track took its toll, as the mid-pack cars began to jostle for better positions, leading to inevitable contact. The first to feel the pressure was Drumont in the Subaru BRZ, struggling to find straight-line speed. This pormpted Ryan Derrouiche (miura30_) in the Chevrolet Corvette C7 and Urra to action, overtaking Drumont before the end of the second lap. Meanwhile, this intense battle in the mid-pack enabled the Ferrari and Porsche at the front to extend their lead, pulling nearly three seconds ahead by the start of lap 3.

Later on that same lap, disaster struck as Serrano lost control of his Toyota Supra, spinning out at Turn 4 and plummeting to the very bottom of the running order. Just moments later, before even reaching the next corner, Thomas Labouteley (Aphel-ion) in the BMW M6 GT3 collided with Drumont’s Subaru BRZ, sending Drumont into a spin and relegating him to the back of the pack. The favorites were falling like dominoes!

While Serrano, Drumont, and López were grappling with their unfortunate positions, Mateo Esteves (PRiMA_Hyperz) was quietly making waves. Starting the race in 11th place, Esteves had maneuvered his Honda NSX GT3 up to an impressive 6th place by lap 9.

As the race reached its halfway point, Ferrari remained in command, with the Porsche in close pursuit. Six seconds behind them, Team Mercedes-AMG held 3rd place, followed by Team Chevrolet. The tension escalated as the rain began to ease, causing the track to dry and presenting drivers with a critical decision: stay on the wets, switch to intermediate tires, or take the gamble on full racing slicks. With pitstops lasting more than 10 seconds, making the wrong choice could be catastrophic.

The first to make a move was Team Honda’s Esteves, who pitted at the end of lap 17, opting for the intermediate Michelins. Hot on his heels, race leader Buhdeima brought his Ferrari 458 Italia in on the next lap, also choosing the intermediate compound.

Buhdeima rejoined the race in P4 but wasted no time overtaking Derrouiche’s Corvette to reclaim 3rd place. He soon retook the lead as the remaining front-runners made their pitstops. Meanwhile, several other drivers gambled on soft racing slicks, which were performing impressively as the track continued to dry. Observing this, Hencsei in the Porsche 911 RSR delayed his pitstop until lap 22, opting for the soft slicks in a bold attempt to chase down Buhdeima with just six laps remaining. The chase was on!

Gradually, Hencsei closed the gap on Buhdeima, until the final lap saw the Porsche 911’s nose practically glued to the rear bumper of the Ferrari 458 Italia. With only two corners to go, Benjamin Hencsei’s 911—clearly the quicker car—made a desperate attempt to pass Mohamed Buhdeima on the last corner. But the young Brit showed incredible composure, fending off the challenge and crossing the finish line first to take his first victory!

Rounding out the podium was Thomas Labouteley for Team BMW, securing a hard-earned 3rd place. With its strong finish in Prague and Montreal, Team Porsche took the series lead, followed by Lexus and Ferrari.

Said Buhdeima after the race: “It feels unreal. I feel like I’m dreaming, to be honest. I could see I was being gained on by each lap, but I decided to play it safe and just run my race. In the last few laps, I thought, ‘Keep it together. If I do that, the worst-case scenario would be P2, a podium.’”

He did indeed keep it together and came away with an impressive win that surprised everyone in attendance. He will now hand over the driving duties to his teammate for Round 3 in Tokyo, Japan, at the end of September.

Gran Turismo World Series 2024 Round 2 - Manufacturers Cup
Grand Final Results