Regardless of the circuit, Valentino Rossi is always welcomed like a local hero. But if there is a track that he truly calls home, it is Misano. Rossi grew up in Tavullia, less than 15 kilometres from the venue, so it was without question the perfect scene for his maiden Fanatec GT Europe victory on Sunday afternoon.
Rossi shared the winning #46 Team WRT BMW with Maxime Martin, a man with a long list of achievements in GT racing. Yet the result seemed almost as significant to the Belgian, who was perhaps inspired by the passionate supporters who flocked to Misano to cheer on the #46 car.
The weekend also brought significant developments in the Sprint Cup championship, as Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy opened up a solid advantage at the top of the standings. There was plenty of drama in the Gold Cup and Silver Cup, while the Bronze Cup made its very first appearance at a Sprint event, contributing to a record-breaking 42-car grid.
These are the key stories and stats from an unforgettable weekend at Misano.
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Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy cruised to one of their more dominant Sprint Cup wins in Race 1. This was Marciello's 12th victory in the series and the seventh for Boguslavskiy. Akkodis ASP now has 14 Sprint Cup wins, while Mercedes-AMG has amassed 30.
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The dominance started in qualifying where Marciello scored a record-extending 14th Sprint pole by more than three tenths of a second. The Swiss driver has now taken top spot in qualifying at six of the previous seven events. Notably, he very first Sprint Cup pole came at Misano in 2018.
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Giacomo Altoè and Konsta Lappalainen (#14 Emil Frey Racing) gave the Ferrari 296 GT3 its maiden Fanatec GT Europe podium by finishing second in Race 1. This was also the first series podium for Finnish young gun Lappalainen.
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Misano proved to be a solid weekend for Emil Frey Racing. The #14 Ferrari was sixth in Race 2, while the sister #69 machine finished both races in fifth. Albert Costa crossed the line fourth in the second contest but was penalised five seconds for abusing track limits.
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Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin took a famous win in Race 2. The result was significant for several reasons, not least the fact that Rossi secured his maiden Fanatec GT Europe victory. The Italian previously won MotoGP races at his home track in 2008, 2009 and 2014.
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This was also the first win for the Team WRT BMW partnership and, coincidentally, the Belgian squad's 46th overall victory in the Sprint Cup. Rossi is synonymous with the #46, which was retired by MotoGP following his switch to GT racing.
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The result also marked the return of BMW to the front of the Sprint Cup grid. This was the brand's third series win and the first since Nogaro in 2015, a success that also featured Maxime Martin. Earlier in the day, Dries Vanthoor secured the brand’s first-ever Sprint Cup pole at the wheel of the #32 Team WRT entry.
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The impressive Comtoyou Racing squad banked its maiden overall podium in Race 2 with the #11 Audi of Christopher Haase and Lucas Légeret following the #46 BMW home. This was Légeret's first overall podium in the Sprint Cup, though the young Swiss has already been a winner in Endurance.
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A fourth-place finish in Race 2 was almost as good as a win for the #88 Akkodis ASP. Marciello and Boguslavskiy now lead the overall Sprint Cup standings by 16.5 points – the equivalent of a race victory – with Rossi and Martin their closest rivals. The pair also enjoy a commanding advantage at the top of the combined Fanatec GT Europe standings.
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Perhaps the most surprising storyline of the Misano weekend was the absence of the #40 Tresor Orange1 Audi from the battle for victory. Having enjoyed a superb opener at Brands Hatch and a strong run at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the combination of Mattia Drudi and Ricardo Feller could only record a 10th place finish at the Italian track.
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Boutsen VDS took the opening Gold Cup contest with its #9 Audi of Aurélien Panis and Alberto Di Folco. This was their second win of the campaign after also taking Race 1 honours at Brands Hatch and saw the duo finish sixth overall. But this was a weekend of highs and lows for the #9 crew, with Di Folco crashing heavily in Race 2 following contact with the sister #10 machine.
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As was the case at Brands Hatch, Team WRT triumphed in Race 2 with its #30 BMW of Niklas Krütten and Calan Williams. Aided by the misfortune of their nearest rival, the #30 pairing lead the class standings by 11 points from Panis and Di Folco.
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HRT captured Silver Cup honours in Race 1 thanks to a polished performance from Jordan Love and Frank Bird in the #77 Mercedes-AMG. The duo lost victory at Brands Hatch to a penalty but rebounded at Misano to establish their title credentials.
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Tresor Attempto Racing secured victory in Race 2 to return to the top of the class standings. Their chances in Race 1 had been badly hampered by a crash in qualifying, though Alex Aka and Lorenzo Patrese still recovered to finish third in class.
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Aka/Patrese lead the class standings after four races, though their advantage is just three points over Love/Bird. With six races still to run, this battle has a long way to go.
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The Madpanda Motorsport duo of Ezequiel Perez Companc and Jesse Salmenautio are also in the championship fight after taking a brace of podium finishes at Misano. The #90 Mercedes-AMG was second in Race 1 and third in Race 2, keeping the team in touch with the points leaders.
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The Bronze Cup made its debut at a Sprint event, adding 12 cars to the grid and delivering some very competitive racing. It was absent from the opener at Brands Hatch – as it will be from the finale at Zandvoort – due to space limitations at those circuits.
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The #159 Garage 59 McLaren scored a richly deserved win in Race 1. Henrique Chaves ran at the front during the opening stint while Miguel Ramos brought the car home amid heavy traffic. This was a much-needed result for the Portuguese duo after a string of Endurance events at which their speed was not rewarded with results.
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Having made the breakthrough, they did the very same thing in Race 2. This time it required a late-race pass from Chaves on the #911 Pure Rxcing Porsche of Ayhancan Güven to seal victory.
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The #911 Porsche finished both races in second spot, while the final step on the podium was shared between the #112 JP Motorsport McLaren in Race 1 and the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi in Race 2. Garage 59 lead the early Sprint Cup standings with 34 points, 10 clear of Pure Rxcing.
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There is extra significance to the Bronze Cup this season as the highest scoring entry across Sprint and Endurance will earn an automatic invite to next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's close at the top, with the #911 Pure Rxcing Porsche (83 points) followed by the #79 HRT Mercedes-AMG (74 points) and the #188 Garage 59 McLaren (72 points).
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Misano featured a record 42-car field in both races. Two of the runners – the #126 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini and the #333 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi – were one-off entrants. As such, it is possible that the record will stand for at least the remainder of 2023.
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The event was staged in sweltering heat, with temperatures climbing above 40°c on Sunday. It is worth noting that next season's trip to Misano will be staged two months earlier on 17-19 May.
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The next stop on the 2023 Fanatec GT Europe tour takes the series to the Nürburgring for the fourth round of the Endurance Cup. This will be followed by a five-week summer break, after which the Sprint Cup resumes at Hockenheim (1-3 September), kicking off a busy conclusion to the campaign.
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