Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde won both Sprint Cup races at Misano in Team WRT’s #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, moving to the top of the GT World Challenge Europe standings. The weekend also handed Weerts a record 20th Sprint Cup victory, while local hero Valentino Rossi took his first pole in the series.

Team WRT left the second Sprint Cup round of the GT World Challenge Europe season with a maximum haul from its lead car. Charles Weerts of Belgium and South Africa’s Kelvin van der Linde won Saturday evening’s and Sunday afternoon’s races in the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, and now head the Sprint Cup championship after a difficult opening to their campaign.

Weerts turns a tough season around

The opening race started in chaos, with several cars making contact off the line. Weerts, however, climbed from fourth on the grid straight into a lead the pairing never gave up. On Sunday, van der Linde qualified and ran second before a strong pit stop and driver change vaulted the car ahead, leaving Weerts to bring it home for a second win.

That Sunday result carried extra weight: it was Weerts’ 20th career Sprint Cup victory, making him the outright record holder for wins in the series’ history. “It has been a great weekend here after a pretty difficult season so far, so I am really happy to finally score some big points,” he said, crediting the crew’s pit work for Sunday’s result.

Van der Linde called the double “the best possible way to come back after a difficult start to the season,” adding that leading the championship “makes us really proud.”

Rossi’s home pole ends without a podium

The weekend’s other headline belonged to Valentino Rossi, who took his first-ever GT World Challenge pole in Saturday qualifying in front of his home crowd. The nine-time motorcycle world champion shares the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Germany’s Max Hesse.

A first-lap incident dropped Rossi to fourth in race one, and a ten-second pit penalty for a jump start left the pair sixth. On Sunday they ran third for much of the race, but a late tyre problem for Hesse and relentless pressure from Lucas Auer’s Mercedes cost them the podium a lap from the end, dropping them to fourth.

“It’s a great shame about the missed podium,” Rossi said. “Today, at the end, I tried to resist, but the other car was too fast and they beat me on the last lap.”

A strong count across the classes

Team WRT also scored in the Silver Cup, where Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro won Saturday’s race in the #30 car and added a third place on Sunday. The #31 Pro Cup entry of Jordan Pepper and Amaury Cordeel finished seventh and tenth, the second result following a penalty. In the Gold Cup, KPX Motorsport placed fifth and eighth, while Augusto Farfus and Darren Leung took fourth and eighth in the Bronze Cup.

“We come out of this weekend with a lot of points, which is important,” said Team WRT boss Vincent Vosse.

Facts: BMW M4 GT3 EVO at Misano

  • Race 1 winner: Weerts / van der Linde (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
  • Race 2 winner: Weerts / van der Linde (#32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
  • Sprint Cup standings: Weerts / van der Linde now lead
  • Milestone: Weerts’ 20th Sprint Cup win, a series record
  • Silver Cup: one win, one third (#30, Lismont / Montenegro)

The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup continues at Magny-Cours.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com