Misano, May 17/18. What a racing weekend for BMW M Team WRT! The Belgian team dominated the second event of the season Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup in Misano (ITA) and won in both races with the crews Valentino Rossi / Maxime Martin and Dries Vanthoor / Charles Weerts.
In the first race of the afternoon, Valentino Rossi (ITA) repeated its home victory from last season with Max Martin (BEL). Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts (both BEL) completed the double for the BMW M4 GT3. In the second race, which took place in the evening in the dark, Vanthoor and Weerts were unbeatable. Rossi and Martin finished third. In the overall Sprint Cup standings, Vanthoor and Weerts took the lead after two of the season's five events.
During qualifying on Friday, pole position in both sessions suggested that the BMW M Team WRT and the BMW M4 GT3 were very strong at Misano. This was confirmed during the race. While Vanthoor and Weerts secured a very good position in the title fight with their second victory of the season after the opening race at Brands Hatch (GBR), the #4 BMW M3 GT46 will only compete in the Endurance Cup for the remainder of the season following its two guest starts in the Sprint Cup.
Andreas roos (BMW M Motorsport Director): “Congratulations to the BMW M Team WRT on an incredible race weekend in Misano! Two wins, including the second at home for Valentino Rossi alongside Maxime Martin, and the overall lead in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup for Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts after their crushing victory – it's simply gigantic! In addition, two more successes in the Silver Cup for Calan Williams and Sam De Haan – the team led by Vincent Vosse once again proved that they are of high class. I am also very happy with Century Motorsport's good results in the Bronze Cup. For its first season in the very competitive GT World Challenge Europe, the team is doing well. The BMW M4 GT3 won four of the season's five races, at Le Castellet, Brands Hatch and Misano, proving its versatility on three completely different circuits. This makes us very optimistic for the rest of the season. Thank you to everyone who contributed to these successes! »
Vincent Vosse (BMW M Team WRT Principal): “We now have 50 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup victories – an impressive number! I can only congratulate the team on their performance during the pit stops today. Everyone did a perfect job. I am particularly pleased because we showed a strong response after our recent difficult weekend at the FIA WEC at Spa-Francorchamps. We can now start the countdown to Le Mans with a good feeling.
Valentino Rossi (BMW M4 GT3 n°46): “A fantastic weekend here in Misano! It's great to win at home again after last year. Maxime took pole position on Friday, but I knew straight away it would be difficult racing against our sister car. Charles Weerts put pressure on me at the end of the first race, but I made no mistakes and took the victory. I am very happy about it. In the second race, in the evening, we tried to finish second, but we could not overtake on this track. Nevertheless, we can leave Misano very happy with a double podium.
Max Martin (BMW M4 GT3 n°46): “Winning in Valentino’s backyard and getting on the podium for a second time is fantastic! As we are not competing in the entire Sprint Cup season, we can say that we are finishing it strong after our two guest starts. I now look forward to the next highlights of the Endurance Cup.”
