Kylian Drumont has secured a commanding win for Subaru in the second round of the 2025 Gran Turismo World Series Manufacturers Cup, held at a live event in Berlin, Germany.
The French driver, who claimed the championship title in 2022, put in a strong qualifying performance on the Nürburgring 24-hour layout, including the iconic Nordschleife, to grab pole position. Lining up alongside him on the front row was fellow Frenchman Thomas Labouteley, representing BMW. Both drivers were the only ones to start on soft compound tires, immediately distancing themselves from the pack. Apart from the Döttinger Höhe straight, overtaking opportunities were scarce on the challenging circuit, allowing the front-runners to pull away early.
After just one lap, both Drumont and Labouteley pitted for medium-compound Dunlops, which were making their debut as the new official tire partner for Gran Turismo. The pair rejoined the race in clean air and resumed their battle, until they encountered McLaren driver Jay Murphy, who was still running on hard tires.
While Drumont managed to get past relatively quickly, Labouteley lost time trying to do the same, allowing the Subaru driver to build a gap. At the halfway mark, both contenders pitted again, this time for hard tires, but rejoined into heavier traffic.
One of the key moments came when Drumont attempted to pass Lamborghini’s Naif Alfaleh at Wehrseifen. Contact was made in the process, but Alfaleh soon yielded, allowing Drumont to regain momentum.
As the race transitioned into darkness, Drumont kept his cool and controlled the pace to cross the finish line first, with Labouteley following closely behind. The result mirrored the starting grid and marked another Subaru BMW one-two finish, just like the opening round in London.
Sedziak Shines with Surprise Podium for Nissan
While the fight at the front was settled early, the battle for third was where most of the action took place. Porsche’s Jose Serrano initially looked strong, creating a gap to AMG’s Lucas Bonelli, Mazda’s Pol Urra, and Honda’s Valerio Gallo, a trio that frequently traded places while attempting different strategies.
Gallo’s late stint on hard tires and Bonelli’s aggressive moves opened the door for a dramatic finale. On the final lap, Nissan’s Mikołaj Sedziak entered the picture, using the long straight to his advantage. Benefiting from the slipstream, Sedziak overtook Serrano and capitalized on a mistake from Urra at the final corner to steal third place, an impressive achievement in his World Series debut.
The results mean both Subaru and BMW have now locked in back-to-back one-two finishes in the 2025 season, setting the stage for an intense Manufacturers Cup championship race heading into the next round.
