- Charlie Thornton
- Aug 2, 2025
- 9 min read
GT World Challenge Europe (Sprint Cup) - Round 3 - Rossi triumphs and McLaren break drought at Misano
Valentino Rossi and Raffaele Marciello thrilled the home crowd in race one, while also continuing BMW's dominant performance at Misano, before Benjamin Goethe and Marvin Kirchhöfer delivered McLaren’s first Sprint Cup win since 2016, leaving the championship fight separated by just a single point heading into Magny-Cours.
QUALIFYING 1
Qualifying for the first race of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup weekend at Misano delivered a tense battle for pole position across all classes, in the Pro and Gold session, the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 of Hugo Cook initially set the benchmark with a 1:33.006, only for Klaus Bachler in the #41 Razoon more than racing Porsche 992 GT3 R to briefly take over the top spot with a 1:32.801. Cook responded to reclaim provisional pole position, before Arthur Leclerc in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 surged ahead with a 1:32.110, just before home-hero Valentino Rossi in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo thrilled the home crowd by edging his way ahead of Leclerc with a 1:32.099. Alessio Rovera in the sister #51 Ferrari entered the scene too, clocking in a good lap, before Rossi went quicker once again, while in the final minute of the opening session, Rovera delivered a decisive lap of a 1:31.309 to secure pole position.
In the Silver and Bronze session, Ricardo Feller moved his #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 992 GT3 R into the top ten with a 1:31.983, but attention quickly diverted to Dan Harper in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo, who climbed up to eleventh overall, and second in the Bronze Cup. Dennis Marschall stunned everyone with a 1:31.364 to place the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari onto the front-row, and second fastest overall.
RACE 1
Race one kicked off with drama even before the lights went out, as the #992 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Maxime Oosten failed to make the grid, instead starting from the pitlane. At the green flag, chaos unfolded in the opening corners when the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maxime Martin was forced onto the grass after being struck by Jens Klingmann in the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW, who had been hit by Chris Lulham in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. Both Klingmann and Arthur Leclerc in the #50 AF Corse Ferrari picked up punctures, while Lulham circulated slowly with damage, prompting an early safety car at the end of the first lap.
Once racing resumed, it was Alessio Rovera in the #51 Ferrari leading ahead of Dennis Marschall’s #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, and Valentino Rossi in the #46 Team WRT BMW. The field began to settle, but another incident soon followed when Christian Engelhart crashed the #1 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 into the barriers at the final corner after contact with the #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Ferrari of Eddie Cheever, triggering another full course yellow, and a penalty for the Ferrari. When the green flags returned, Marschall mounted a strong challenge for the lead of the race, but was successfully defended by Rovera, while in Silver, Jamie Day in the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo briefly made his way past Ezequiel Pérez Companc in the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, before losing the position again.
The pit window opened with Rovera and Rossi both stopping from first and third, while a rapid pitstop for Raffaele Marciello in the #46 BMW vaulted the car closer to contention for the lead of the race. Marschall pitted later after inheriting the lead, handing control of the race to a train of Bronze runners led by Ricardo Feller, Harper and Loris Spinelli before they too pitted. As the stops cycled through, Marciello emerged chasing Vincent Abril in the #51 Ferrari.
During the pit stops, Kelvin van der Linde in the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo managed to jump multiple front-running contenders including the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R of Sven Müller and Konsta Lappalainen in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. In the closing stages, Marciello closed to within four-tenths of the lead behind Abril, setting up for a tense, and close finish. With under seven minutes remaining, he seized the opportunity, passing Abril at the turn eleven kink to take control of the race, however a late race full course yellow for a spinning Isaac Tutumlu López in the #112 CSA Racing McLaren 720s GT3 Evo briefly neutralised proceedings, but once racing resumed again, Maro Engel in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo completed a bold move on Müller for fourth position, keeping their title hopes in reach.
Valentino Rossi and Raffaele Marciello sealed the race one victory on home soil, followed by Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera in second, while Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts rounded out the podium in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo. The Gold cup duo of Tom Fleming and Louis Prette won in class, finishing ninth overall, whereas the next Gold cup entry was down in fourteenth, belonging to the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi of Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus.
RACE 1 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
PRO: #46 - Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 Evo - Raffaele Marciello & Valentino Rossi
GOLD: #58 - Garage59, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo - Tom Fleming & Louis Prette
SILVER: #99 - Tresor Attempto Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II - Alex Aka & Ezequiel Pérez Companc
BRONZE: #74 - Kessel Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 - Dustin Blattner & Dennis Marschall
QUALIFYING 2
Qualifying two of the weekend saw rapid changes at the top of the timesheets, and it opened with the Silver and Bronze competitors, with lap times quickly tumbling quickly as Andrey Mukovoz in the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II initially set the pace with a 1:33.960, before Ibrahim Al-Abdulghani in the #27 QMMF by Saintéloc Racing Audi R8, Dmitry Gvazava in the #85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, and Mex Jansen in the #992 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo each briefly held provisional pole position. Marcos Siebert moved ahead with a 1:32.582 in his #52 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, but Alex Aka in the #99 Tresor Audi soon eclipsed that with a 1:32.326 before improving further by nearly three-tenths. In the closing stages after the chequered flag was waved, Kobe Pauwels narrowly snatched pole position in the Silver class in his #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with a 1:32.021.
Once the Pro and Gold entries took over in the second part of qualifying two, Gilles Magnus put the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II fastest and third overall with a 1:32.402, but Raffaele Marciello responded in the #46 Team WRT BMW with a 1:31.674. Vincent Abril pushed the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 into second position with a 1:31.826, before Marvin Kirchhöfer delivered a decisive lap of a 1:31.482 to secure overall pole position in his #59 Garage59 McLaren 720s GT3 Evo.
RACE 2
Race two began with a clean launch from Marvin Kirchhöfer in his Garage59 McLaren, who led the field ahead of Raffaele Marciello’s #46 Team WRT BMW while the midfield went four wide into turn one. Marciello attempted a bold move around the outside but ran wide, allowing Kirchhöfer to retain the lead, while Maro Engel remained in third position in his #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
The race was soon interrupted by a major incident when Gabriel Rindone in the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 992 GT3 R came to a stop with heavy front-left damage, when moments before a huge crash involving the #1 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 of Georgi Donchev and Darren Leung in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo, in which the Lamborghini experienced a dramatic fireball. Donchev escaped unharmed, but clearly shaken, but with serious barrier damage, and multiple cars involved, a red flag halted race two’s proceedings for over two hours.
Racing finally resumed, with Kirchhöfer maintaining the lead ahead of Marciello and Engel. Early penalties were issued for incidents from the start, including a drive-through penalty for the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, and a twenty-second stop-and-go penalty for Leung in the #991 BMW for causing the incident with the Lamborghini. A wave of pit stops followed soon, with Goethe’s #59 McLaren emerging just ahead of Rossi’s BMW to retain the net lead, with Auer briefly rejoining in third, but was challenged by Niederhauser in the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, before reclaiming the position a couple of laps later.
The #46 BMW came under investigation for pitlane speeding, later earning Valentino Rossi a costly drive-through penalty while running in second position, while Dan Harper also received a twenty-second penalty for an unsafe release that sent a tyre bouncing down the pitlane. In Silver, Jamie Day in the #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin overtook Aurélien Panis in the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the class lead after both cars ran off track, with the stewards ruling no further action. In the Gold cup, Chris Lulham moved past Paul Evrard for the top spot in eighth overall in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi R8 respectively.
After a tense final stint, Benjamin Goethe managed to hold off Lucas Auer by mere tenths to give McLaren its first Sprint Cup victory since the Nürburgring round during the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, where Rob Bell and Alvaro Parente scored victory in their McLaren 650s GT3. Niederhauser rounded out the podium in his #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche, while Lulham claimed Gold cup honours ahead of Evrard and Fleming, the latter narrowly beating Jens Klingmann in the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW by just 0.013 seconds at the line. Jamie Day took the Silver class victory over Panis and Bergström, while the Bronze win went to the #85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini.
RACE 2 PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
PRO: #59 - Garage 59, McLaren 720s GT3 Evo - Benjamin Goethe & Marvin Kirchhöfer
GOLD: #69 - Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 - Chris Lulham & Thierry Vermeulen
SILVER: #21 - Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo - Jamie Day & Kobe Pauwels
BRONZE: #85 - Imperiale Racing, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 - Dmitry Gvazava & Loris Spinelli
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS
Six races of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup are now complete, and the championship battles are as tight as they can ever be, with three teams jostling for the championship separated by just a single point. Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts hold on to the lead of the championship with 53 points in their #32 Team WRT BMW, while Lucas Auer and Maro Engel sit tied with Benjamin Goethe and Marvin Kirchhöfer with 52 points in their #48 Winward Racing Mercedes and #59 Garage 59 McLaren respectively. Sven Müller and Patric Niederhauser have dropped out of the podium places, and sit with 45.5 points in their #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche.
Despite a retirement in race one at Misano, Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen continue to lead in the Gold Cup standings in their #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari with 77.5 points, while the gap to second has closed, this time fourteen points ahead of the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi crew of Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus. Third position goes to the #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi crew of Leonardo Moncini and Sebastian Øgaard with 54 points.
After a retirement for the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes crew of César Gazeau and Aurélien Panis in race one, the Silver Cup championship lead has transferred to Alex Aka and Ezequiel Pérez Companc in the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi with 66.5 points, while Ivan Klymenko and Lorens Lecertua sit nine points behind in their #26 Saintéloc Racing Audi. The aforementioned #10 crew of Gazeau and Panis have fallen to third with 57 points, while Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels’ victory in race two see them fourth with 50.5 points.
Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall continued to lead the Bronze Cup with 46 points, while Bastian Buus and Bashar Mardini in the #89 Lionspeed GP Porsche stayed in second just seven points behind. After the unfortunate incident between Darren Leung and Georgi Donchev, the #991 Paradine Competition BMW is tied on 32.5 points with the #85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini of Dmitry Gvazava and Loris Spinelli.
MAGNY-COURS AWAITS
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup will resume on the 2nd - 3rd August at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, where teams will continue to battle for their respective championships.
Images © SRO/JEP
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