CLEAN SWEEP AND STELLAR PERFORMANCES AT MISANO ADRIATICO
Team WRT's race weekend in Misano Adriatico was nothing short of spectacular, under ideal weather conditions and in front of enthusiastic fans cheering for the local favourite Valentino Rossi. Solidifying its legacy as the most successful team on the Misano track, the Belgian team achieved a clean sweep, claiming two overall pole positions and victories. Car #46, driven by Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi, secured victory in race one, just ahead of sister car #32. The latter, with Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts at the wheel, triumphed in race two, joined by car #46 in the third spot. Sam De Haan and Calan Williams, who secured the Silver Cup pole position in race one, clinched two victories in the Silver Cup, showcasing their remarkable skills. The icing on the cake was the crew of car #46 winning the Pitstop Challenge, achieving the quickest pitstop in both races.
RACE 1 RESULTS
OVERALL
1. Martin – Rossi (BMW M4 GT3) 39 laps
2. Vanthoor – Weerts (BMW M4 GT3) + 0.275s
3. Altoe – Vermeulen (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 16.790s
4. Green – Lappalainen (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 32.054s
5. Engel – Auer (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) + 37.540s
SILVER
1. De Haan – Williams (BMW M4 GT3) 39 laps
2. Hudspeth – Machiels (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 1.485s
3. Barr – Gustavsen (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) +2.712s
4. Butti – Delli Guanti (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2) + 1 lap
5. Lecertua – Rappange (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo) + 1 lap
RACE 2 RESULTS:
OVERALL
1.Vanthoor – Weerts (BMW M4 GT3) 38 laps
2. Engel – Auer (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) + 1.963s
3. Martin – Rossi (BMW M4 GT3) + 2.552s
4. Altoe – Vermeulen (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 3.638s
5. Müller – Niederhauser (Porsche 911 GT3R) + 17.998s
SILVER
1. De Haan – Williams (BMW M4 GT3) 38 laps
2. Klymenko - Stadsbader (Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo) + 4.166s
3. Hudspeth – Machiels (Ferrari 296 GT3) + 4.471s
4. Lecertua – Rappange (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo) + 11.163s
5. Barr – Gustavsen (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) + 12.031s
Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal Team WRT: “Very strong weekend! And it is our 49th and 50th win in the Sprint Cup, an incredible achievement. The mechanics helped us again with great pitstops. Fiftieth win, two wins overall, two wins in Silver, one pitstop challenge victory, overall and silver cup championship lead, we could not ask for more! It feels very good, even more so after the weekend we had in Spa. It is a nice way to recover and to prepare for Le Mans!”
Calan WILLIAMS, driver #30: "Really strong weekend for Sam and me. Two wins in Silver, overall points in both races as well which is a very nice way to finish off. We are looking very strong for the rest of the year, but we obviously keep pushing as we never take things for granted! But yes, I’m very happy with this weekend in Misano!”
Sam DE HAAN, driver #30: “A very strong weekend. We maximised everything, the car was great all weekend long, the team did an amazing job, and the pitstops were perfect. Calan and I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. We executed everything as we would have dreamed. I’ve made good progress since Brands Hatch, but I’m still learning about the car and from the other guys. But everything is going in the right direction!”
Charles WEERTS, driver #32: “A very good weekend with a pole, second and first place! It’s been good. We took the lead in the championship again. We knew Misano was a good track for us, where we had to capitalise to score great points. I’m very happy with what we’ve done. The championship is very long, and we will go to tracks that suit us less but let’s see how it goes. Huge thanks to the whole WRT crew, thanks to BMW and to Dries for the great job! We can be very satisfied!”
Dries VANTHOOR, driver #32: “Good weekend here in Misano. I was a bit disappointed with myself for my track limits infringement in qualifying, because it could have been a double pole position for #32. It should not happen. But I made a great comeback in race one, and we finished P2 and P1 which is very great for the championship. The team did again a great job, quickest pitstops. Hats off to them! The car was really good. We should always come to Misano! It is a track that suits us well, where we’ve always had great weekends as a team. I’m happy to come back, always!”
Maxime MARTIN, driver #46: “Definitely an amazing weekend! Two podiums, one victory, and all of this, in the garden of Vale! It could not be a better weekend! It was the only two race weekends we were doing in Sprint, but we can say we finished on a high in the Sprint championship!”
Valentino ROSSI, driver #46: “Great weekend here in Misano for the whole team. We enjoyed it a lot. Maxime did a fantastic job putting the car on pole position for the first race. I knew it was going to be very hard to fight with the #32. I’m happy because we won again, one year later! It was difficult at the end of race one because Charles was fighting, but I did the job and did not make any mistakes. In race two, another podium. It was more difficult to overtake, but it is a double podium and a fantastic weekend at home!”.