Valentino Rossi knows herself around Misano. On Saturday he added another chapter on his growing GT3 resume on the third sprint weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe by winning the race 1 with the passenger Raffaele Marciello in #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It was Rossi’s third victory in a row on his home track, and it was even more pressure – in front of thousands of fans, just a few kilometers from his hometown of Tavullia.
The victory was not a happy break. Marciello delivered a strong opening stay and handed over the car Rossi in a good position. From there Rossi held a company and directed the traffic and pressure to bring the car home first. Behind it, the BMW of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde secured third place and blocked a double podium for the BMW M -Team -WRT on Saturday. The only car she split was the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, which gave the Italian fans a lot to cheer.
Sunday was a different story
Race 2 did not go as planned for Rossi and Marciello. They started second place and were early in the fight for the lead, but a passage for the speed in the pit lane killed every shot in another victory. Marciello had pushed hard and the small mistake turned out to be expensive. The car #46 fell out of the dispute and never recovered.
In the meantime, the sister #32 BMW had her own fight. Van der Linde and Weerts quickly provided the reason after a poor qualification meeting. Due to a larger crash, the race was flapped red for more than two hours, but as soon as things were resumed, the duo kept in fifth place, collected fixed points and held onto a tie for the sprint cup championship tour.
Other BMW results
It was a hard weekend for Jens Klingmann and Al Faisal al Zubair in #777 Almanar Racing BMW. After a solid qualification of the second place in the gold class, their race ended with severe damage on Saturday. This crash also meant a 10-place network penalty for Sunday. From 35th place they returned to P4 in the gold category and were only missing the class podium.
In the Silver Cup, Gustav Bergström and Gilles Stadsbader jumped back from a P4 finish on Saturday from a P4 finish on Sunday and brought home some points for Team WRT.
Dan Harper and Darren Leung took second place in the bronze cup for Century Motorsport on Saturday, but Sunday quickly dissolved. First, they were punished for their role in the red flag incident and later again for an uncertain publication. This ended their chances of a repeat podium.
Championship outlook
Although we missed the podium on Sunday, Weerts and Van der Linde still had what they needed with what they needed. With 106 points you are now sitting with Lucas Auer and Maro Engel at the top of the Sprint Cup driver. BMW Team WRT continues to head the team championship.
Rossi’s victory may not have moved the needle overall, but it consolidated something else: Misano is his lawn. Three victories three years in a row. Whether on two or four wheels, he still knows how he can deliver in front of a home.
