• Sprint Cup takes centre stage following 77th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa
• Additional entries boost field to 44-car record, 10 brands represented
• One-hour races scheduled for Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon
ENTRY LIST: MISANO
Misano will welcome a record-breaking grid for next weekend’s GT World Challenge powered by AWS event (18–20 July), with the 44-car entry list establishing a new benchmark for the Sprint Cup.
The Italian venue hosts the series for an 11th consecutive season, with its one-hour races set to play out shortly before sunset on Saturday evening (20:15) and on Sunday afternoon (14:45). It comes three weeks after the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which featured the biggest grid ever seen in the Endurance Cup.
Misano will put Sprint racing back beneath the spotlight, with competitive title battles developing in all four classes. With more cars on the grid than ever before, it promises to be an action-packed weekend on the Adriatic coast.
PRO: WRT looking to extend winning run at most successful circuit
Team WRT has won at every track on the Sprint Cup calendar, but Misano is an especially happy hunting ground. The Belgian squad has taken a remarkable 10 wins from the previous 12 races at the track, so all eyes will be on the #32 BMW of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde, who top the standings after securing victory last time out at Zandvoort. Team WRT has doubled its chances for the upcoming weekend by enlisting Valentino Rossi and Raffaele Marciello – both past winners at Misano – who will make a one-off appearance aboard the #46 BMW.
The opposition is led by Rutronik Racing Porsche duo Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller, who won the opening Zandvoort contest and have since finished as runners-up at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. A second Porsche joins the Pro field at Misano: series newcomer Razoon – more than racing will field rookie Simon Birch alongside experienced factory driver Klaus Bachler.
Reigning drivers' champions Maro Engel and Lucas Auer have slipped to third in the Sprint Cup standings, but the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG is a strong contender to topple Team WRT. Boutsen VDS will also field a Mercedes-AMG for factory drivers Maxime Martin and Luca Stolz, the former having shared victory with Rossi in 2023 and 2024.
Misano is Lamborghini territory, and the #63 Grasser Racing duo of Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler are on a serious high after helping to secure the Italian marque its first-ever overall win at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Nothing will top that, but victory at the manufacturer’s home event would make for a perfect follow-up. Barwell Motorsport will also field the Huracan GT3 EVO2 for its regular duo of Sandy Mitchell and Hugo Cook.
Garage 59 also enjoyed a memorable weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, with Marvin Kirchhöfer topping Superpole and the squad ultimately finishing sixth, McLaren's best result in the Ardennes. Kirchhöfer and Benjamin Goethe must feel that their first win with the British marque is just around the corner. CSA Racing adds another 720S EVO for the French pairing of Simon Gachet and Jim Pla, who will look to put points on the board after a disappointing start to the campaign.
Ferrari will be represented by a trio of Pro cars, all of which will be hoping to bounce back from a difficult meeting at Zandvoort. The #51 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors entry of Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril won the opening race of the season but hasn't scored points since, while the sister #50 machine of Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer has been consistent without reaching the ultimate pace. Emil Frey Racing will also field a 296 GT3 for Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen, who were extremely fast at Zandvoort but failed to bank a top-10 finish.
HRT Ford Performance is still seeking a breakthrough in Sprint with Jusuf Owega and Romain Andriolo sharing its #64 Mustang GT3. Henrique Chaves and Mateo Villagomez experienced contrasting weekends at Spa: the former crashed in Superpole, while the latter took Silver Cup victory. They will combine aboard the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin and complete the Pro runners.
GOLD: Vermeulen and Lulham favourites for more success
There are five cars entered in the Gold Cup, all of which have a genuine shot at victory. Having won their class at Spa abord an Aston Martin, Thierry Vermeulen and Chris Lulham return to the controls of the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari this weekend and will seek to stretch their points advantage further.
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Their chief opposition thus far has come from Al Faisal Al Zubair and Jens Klingmann in the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW, who captured a win at Brands Hatch. Gilles Magnus and Paul Evrard were victorious at Zandvoort, and the #25 Audi is always a potential contender under the guidance of Saintéloc Racing.
Sebastian Øgaard and Leonardo Moncini have made a strong start to the season, scoring three podiums from four races in the #88 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. Finally, in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren, Louis Prette and Adam Smalley will be out for revenge after a late puncture cost them class victory at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
SILVER: Ultra-close title battle developing
The Silver Cup is without question the closest title fight as the mid-point of the season approaches. The #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG pairing of Aurélien Panis and Cesar Gazeau lead the way, but the French pairing is just half a point clear of Alex Aka and Ezequiel Perez Companc (#99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi).
Lorens Lecertua and Ivan Klymenko (#26 Saintéloc Racing Audi) sit a further point back after scoring class victory – and a brilliant second place overall – at Zandvoort. All three crews should be front-runners once again at Misano. AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors began the season with a win courtesy of Jef Machiels and Marcos Siebert, though the #52 Ferrari has not finished better than sixth since the opener and needs a strong weekend to retain its title hopes.
The #992 Paradine Competition BMW of Maxime Oosten and Mex Jansen has earned two podiums this term and should be in contention for more at Misano. Kobe Pauwels and Jamie Day have finished fourth in the previous three races, while Eshan Pieris and Loek Hartog (#97 Rutronik Racing Porsche) and Gilles Stadsbader and Gustav Bergström (#30 Team WRT BMW) have shown the pace to contend for strong results.
Grasser Racing runs an unchanged line-up of Ivan Ekelchik and Baptiste Moulin in the #19 Lamborghini, while teammates for Bijoy Garg (#76 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini) and Matisse Lismont (#24 Steller Motorsport Corvette) will be confirmed ahead of the event.
BRONZE: Blattner and Marschall in unstoppable form after CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa win
Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall head to Misano in top form. The #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari duo not only lead the Sprint Cup standings, but they also top the Endurance table after winning the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Though the season is barely halfway complete, they are firm title favourites.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of opposition from their Bronze Cup rivals. Defending champion Darren Leung is a clear candidate for victory alongside Augusto Farfus in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW. Bashar Mardini and Bastian Buus (Lionspeed GP Porsche) were highly impressive at Zandvoort, capturing Race 1 victory after a stunning qualifying effort from Buus put the car on overall pole. The sister #80 entry is also a potential winner in the hands of Gabriel Rindone and Ricardo Feller.
Winward Racing should be in the hunt with its experienced pairing of Rinat Salikhov and Gabriele Piana, who were part of the crew that finished second in class at Spa-Francorchamps. CSA Racing will field its McLaren for Isaac Tutumlu López and Arthur Rougier after the new partnership showed well at Zandvoort.
Lamborghini has a pair of Bronze Cup cars for its home event with Dmitriy Gvazava and Loris Spinelli sharing the #85 Imperiale Racing entry, while Georgi Donczew and Christian Engelhart take the controls of the #1 Grasser Racing machine. Audi will be represented by Tresor Attempto Racing (Andrey Mukovoz & Dylan Pereira) and QMMF By Sainteloc Racing (Ibrahim Al-Abdulghani & Ghanim Salah Al-Maadheed).
UNX Racing represents a new addition to the grid, with CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Pro-Am winners Mathieu Detry and Fabian Duffieux sharing a Porsche run in partnership with Dinamic GT. Entries from Ziggo Sport Tempesta – which fields Marco Pulcini and Eddie Cheever III – and the all-Brazilian pairing of Ricardo Baptista and Sergio Sette Camara (#270 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin) complete the field.
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FAN ACTIVATIONS
Misano promises to be one of the busiest weekends of the season. On the circuit, there will be support action from the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club, Porsche Carrera Cup France, and the Clio Cup Series. As ever, there will also be fan activities – including music and DJ sets – as well as food and drink stalls.
Petrolheads will have even more to enjoy. Misano sits at the very heart of the legendary Motor Valley, a network that also includes museums and factories housing legendary brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati and Pagani. This is the perfect base from which to discover the Motor Valley and its automotive excellence.
Tickets start at just 10€ for Friday, and 25€ for single-day passes on Saturday and Sunday. A full weekend ticket costs 40€, while a three-day pass is available for 45€. Those wishing to watch on Saturday evening only can purchase the new Sunset Paddock ticket, which is valid from 18:00 and costs just 10€. Kids born after 1 January 2013 can attend for 1€ when accompanied by a paying adult. For more info, please click here.
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ALSO RACING
GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli (2x 60-minute races)
GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club (2x 60-minute races)
Clio Cup Series (2x 25-minute + 1 lap races)
Porsche Carrera Cup France (2x 30-minute + 1 lap races)
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TIMETABLE (CEST)
THURSDAY 17 JULY
Paid Test Session: 15:05-17:05
FRIDAY 18 JULY
Free Practice: 13:40-15:20
Pre-Qualifying: 19:20-20:20
SATURDAY 19 JULY
Qualifying 1: 12:00-12:25 LIVE TV
Race 1: 20:15–21:15 LIVE TV
SUNDAY 20 JULY
Qualifying 2: 10:25-10:50 LIVE TV
Race 2: 14:45–15:45 LIVE TV