Prototype Cup Europe Latest: Catalano Takes Prototype Cup Europe Points Lead After Monza Race Two Victory

Valentino Catalano is the new leader of the 2026 Prototype Cup Europe championship, having raced to his and team-mate Danny Soufi’s second victory of the campaign at Monza in Italy on Sunday in the No.11 GMS Team Ligier JS P325.

After a faultless opening stint from pole qualifying Soufi, Catalano left pitlane after the mandatory pit-stop just behind race one winner Emil Hellberg in the No.48 Allay Racing Ligier. Moments later, news of a penalty for Hellberg came from race control – linked to being 0.4s too fast in the pitlane – and he duly slowed to comply and allow Catalano through unhindered.

Hellberg, who produced a giant-killing performance in race one on Saturday, 1 August, to see off a major bid from Soufi and secure his maiden outright win in Prototype Cup Europe, still took away his second overall podium of the event and his sixth straight Prototype Cup Europe Trophy success.

Erstwhile championship leader Maxim Dirickx was third in race two in the No.3 Aust Motorsport Ligier he shares with Nigel Moore, while the race one podium was rounded out by the BWT Mücke Motorsport Duqueine D09 of Tobias Bille Clausen and Mattis Pluschkell. Catalano earned both Prototype Cup Europe Junior wins, and GMS has moved to the top of the Team Championship.

Race One
Starting from pole, Catalano led away on the inside to the Rettifilo Chicane as Zino Fahlke looked to try and challenge from second – although the Larea GT1 Racing Duqueine driver had to cut the corner under braking. Pluschkell in the No.8 Duqueine was able to stream past Fahlke, as did Dirickx.

Catalano gradually built his lead over Pluschkell as Fahlke moved back into third ahead of Dirickx, and after trying to respond to Catalano’s pace Pluschkell then had a moment on the sixth tour which dropped him three seconds shy of the leader.

As the opening of the pit window neared Fahlke and Dirickx were the first of the lead group to serve their stops, Fahlke staying behind the wheel as a sole competitor in the No.49 while Dirickx handed over the Aust Ligier to Moore. Pluschkell was next to stop, Clausen getting into the driving seat of the No.8, and only then did Catalano head to pitlane where Soufi was waiting to switch.

Hellberg moved into the lead as a result in his Ligier and then pitted at the end of lap 16. With less time to serve in the pits, due to his Bronze driver grading, the Swede rejoined just ahead of Soufi as they headed to Rettifilo. Straight away Soufi applied significant pressure, but Hellberg didn’t cave.

On lap 18 Soufi was impossibly close at Roggia Chicane, but had to run straight on, and after reeling Hellberg back in the American filled the mirrors of the Allay car. Onto the final lap there was nothing to split them, and at Rettifilo there was slight contact to the right-rear of Hellberg’s Ligier. Looking to make another attempt at the Roggia, Soufi had to cut the corner once more as Hellberg braked late.

After rejoining, Soufi then ran wide into the first Lesmo which cost him time. Hellberg held on to claim a famous maiden victory, tyre smoke from his right-rear causing some worry, with Soufi able to finish second from Clausen. Fahlke was less than a second shy, with Moore in fifth and Hellberg’s brother Linus rounding out the top six in his No.43 Allay Racing run Ligier.

Race Two
Much was expected of Sunday’s race, after the fireworks of the day prior, and there was great action from the very beginning when Emil Hellberg rocketed through the centre of the pack at the rolling start to leap from sixth to second by the time he had exited the Rettifilo Chicane. Pole qualifier Soufi, meanwhile, was able to lead away cleanly and by the end of lap one he had a cushion of 1.8 seconds.

Team Virage’s front-row starter Theo Micouris was firmly into his stride in the No.74 Ligier after a couple of laps and began to put pressure on Hellberg, before slicing past into the first chicane on lap four. Behind the lead trio, Óscar Tunjo held fourth in the No.12 GMS Team Ligier but he had his mirrors full of the Aust Ligier of Nigel Moore. Those two then closed on Hellberg who had dropped away from Micouris.

With half an hour to run Soufi’s lead stood at 3.5 seconds, while the engaging battle for third continued with Hellberg holding off Tunjo and Moore. The pit window opened shortly after and Fahlke was the first to stop from sixth, followed by Markus Pommer in the No.18 BWT Mücke Duqueine and Linus Hellberg. As more runners headed to pitlane, Soufi continued to extend his lead.

Soufi pitted at the end of lap 15, having held a six second advantage, to hand over to Catalano while Micouris moved into the on-track lead from Moore – Emil Hellberg also pitting. Notably, the Allay Racing Ligier was able to get into the fast lane of the pits a fraction ahead of Catalano, potentially setting up a conclusion just like the one enjoyed on Saturday.

It wasn’t to be, though, with Hellberg incurring a penalty and giving up his place to Catalano after purposefully slowing with quarter of an hour to go. Dirickx held third, having taken over the No.3 Ligier from Moore, and he gained on Hellberg before a slight mistake undid his work.

At the front Catalano cruised to his and Soufi’s second outright win of the season by 11.5 seconds, Hellberg finished on the overall podium again in second and erstwhile series leader Dirickx was third. Fahlke came through to take the flag in fourth, around a second clear of Pluschkell, with Maximilan Kammerlander grabbing sixth late on in the No.77 Team Virage Ligier shared with Samuel Ifrid.

Next stop for the Prototype Cup Europe is Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the final two races of the 2026 championship. Running as support to the annual Michelin 992 Endurance Cup, testing for the Prototype Cup Europe runners will take place on Thursday, 3 September, with qualifying and both races following on Friday, 4 September.

Valentino Catalano ha conquistato la testa del campionato Prototype Cup Europe 2026 dopo aver vinto la sua seconda gara stagionale insieme al compagno di squadra Danny Soufi a Monza, in Italia, con la Ligier JS P325 numero 11 del GMS Team. Soufi è partito dalla pole position e ha disputato un primo stint impeccabile, permettendo a Catalano di sfruttare una penalità inflitta a Emil Hellberg, vincitore di gara 1. La penalità per eccesso di velocità in pit-lane ha consentito a Catalano di superarlo senza problemi. Nonostante la sconfitta, Hellberg ha comunque conquistato un altro podio, il suo sesto consecutivo nel Prototype Cup Europe Trophy.

Maxim Dirickx, il precedente leader del campionato, ha chiuso al terzo posto in gara 2 con il compagno di squadra Nigel Moore sulla Ligier numero 3 dell’Aust Motorsport. Il primo podio di gara 1 è stato completato anche dalla Duqueine D09 del BWT Mücke Motorsport, guidata da Tobias Bille Clausen e Mattis Pluschkell. Catalano ha vinto entrambe le gare Junior dell’evento, contribuendo a far conquistare alla GMS il primo posto nel Campionato a Squadre.

Nella prima gara, Catalano ha avuto un’ottima partenza dalla pole position, mantenendo il comando fino alla chicane Rettifilo. Zino Fahlke ha tentato di insidiarlo, ma è stato costretto a tagliare la curva, permettendo agli altri di superarlo. Mentre Catalano accumulava vantaggio su Pluschkell, Fahlke e Dirickx sono stati i primi a rientrare ai box. Hellberg è passato in testa dopo i pit stop, ma ha dovuto affrontare la forte pressione di Soufi, che aveva preso il posto di Catalano. In un finale al cardiopalma, Hellberg è riuscito a mantenere la posizione e a conquistare la vittoria, con Soufi secondo e Clausen terzo, mentre Fahlke e Moore hanno completato la top six.

La seconda gara ha offerto un’azione intensa, a partire dalla sorprendente rimonta di Hellberg, passato dalla sesta alla seconda posizione poco dopo la partenza. Soufi, nel frattempo, ha mantenuto un comodo vantaggio. Con il progredire della gara, la lotta per il terzo posto ha visto inizialmente Hellberg resistere agli attacchi di Óscar Tunjo e Moore. Dopo diversi pit stop, durante i quali Soufi ha ceduto il volante a Catalano, Hellberg ha ricevuto una penalità che ha permesso a Catalano di riconquistare la testa della corsa. Catalano ha poi vinto la gara con un vantaggio di 11,5 secondi, piazzando nuovamente Hellberg al secondo posto e Dirickx al terzo, con Fahlke al quarto.

Il prossimo appuntamento del calendario della Prototype Cup Europe si terrà a Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgio, dove i team si sfideranno nelle ultime due gare del campionato 2026. I test sono previsti per il 3 settembre, seguiti dalle qualifiche e dalle gare il 4 settembre.