Subaru and BMW continue their winning form in the 2025 Gran Turismo World Series

The second round of the 2025 Gran Turismo World Series (GTWS) unfolded on Saturday before a sold-out audience at the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin, Germany.

The day opened with the Manufacturers Cup – a wildly unpredictable contest where daring pit strategies and split-second decisions were on full display. After Subaru’s commanding triumph in Round 1 in London, the spotlight fell squarely on the team’s ace, Frenchman Kylian Drumont.

Standing in his way was a field stacked with talent, such as Spain’s Jose Serrano (Porsche) and Pol Urra (Mazda), alongside lightning-quick newcomers, including Poland’s sensational rookie Mikolaj Sedziak.

The Manufacturers Cup brings together the top-ranked manufacturers from the Online Qualifiers, joined by Official Partners Toyota and Mazda – and making its debut, Dunlop tires – for a grid of 12 powerhouse teams. Each manufacturer is represented by a trio of elite drivers, one hailing from each of the Europe/Middle East/Africa, Americas, and Asia-Oceania regions, chosen for their stellar performances during qualifying. In Berlin, all eyes were fixed on the twelve European contenders, as they took center stage for the high-stakes Round 2 battle.

In qualifying, it was Subaru and BMW that stamped their authority early, with Drumont and fellow Frenchman Thomas Labouteley securing their BRZ GT300 and M6 GT3, respectively, in the front row for the Grand Final. Lining up beside them was the Porsche 911 RSR, driven by Serrano – already a champion in both the Manufacturers Cup and Nations Cup – while Nissan’s new sensation, Mikolaj Sedziak, showcased his raw pace from the second row in the Nissan GT-R Nismo.

The Grand Final was staged on the punishing Nürburgring 24H layout, where endurance and strategy matter as much as speed. With regulations requiring every team to run at least one lap each on soft, medium, and hard-compound tires for the six-lap contest, the race became a high-speed chess match across on Green Hell. Subaru and BMW both gambled on starting with the grippy soft Dunlops to seize an early advantage, while the majority of the field opted for the mediums.

After the opening lap, the race began to take on a life of its own. The leaders dove into the pits, each adhering to their pre-planned strategies, while the rest of stayed out longer. Veterans like Serrano, Urra in the Mazda RX-Vision GT3, Lucas Bonelli driving the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Valerio Gallo in the Honda NSX each adopted different approaches, and as the laps unfolded, the picture of who might ultimately triumph grew increasingly uncertain.

Former Nations Cup champion Gallo, ever the daring tactician, adopted the boldest strategy of them all. He began the race on medium-compound tires, stretching them for three grueling laps (the others went with two), and pushed the softs for another two, saving the hard-compound stint for the final lap. The gamble propelled him into the overall lead for portions of the race, but as the closing laps arrived, the flaws in his plan began to show. His NSX struggled to hold pace on the unforgiving Nürburgring asphalt, and he finished the race in a disappointing ninth.

In the end, the day – and Round 2 – belonged to Drumont, who powered Team Subaru to its second consecutive victory, giving the manufacturer a commanding edge in the standings. His compatriot Thomas Laboutealy once again delivered for BMW with a hard-fought second place, while Sedziak stunned the crowd by rising to the podium in his very first live GTWS event.

But with two rounds still to come, the season is anything but decided. Every team remains in striking distance, and the drama now shifts across the Atlantic, where Round 3 will ignite under the bright lights of Los Angeles this November.