ENTRY LIST: MISANO
GT World Challenge powered by AWS heads to Misano next weekend for the fifth round of the season – and the second stop on the Sprint Cup tour. A record 44-car field will tackle the Italian venue, with racing in daylight and darkness adding to the competitive challenge. Here are the key storylines heading to the Adriatic coast.
LIONSPEED GP IS ON A ROLL
Lionspeed GP heads into the Misano weekend with the best possible momentum. The German squad took a brilliant overall victory at last month's CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, giving Porsche its first win at the event since 2020.
The crew of Bastian Buus and Riccardo Feller also lead the Sprint Cup standings. They scored a double pole at Brands Hatch and, after a technical issue halted their charge in Race 1, made amends by taking a commanding victory in Race 2. Misano should suit the 911 well and both drivers are at the top of their game. Expect them to be among the leading contenders in Italy.
MISANO IS TEAM WRT TERRITORY
If Lionspeed GP – or indeed anyone else – wants to win at Misano, they'll first have to overcome Team WRT. The Belgian squad has a truly remarkable record at the Italian track, scoring 14 victories in the past decade, including clean sweeps in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Among its current roster of drivers, no one has been more successful than Charles Weerts. The four-time Sprint Cup champion has taken eight wins at Misano, including his maiden triumph back in 2019. It's worth noting that another victory this weekend would see him tie the all-time record for Sprint Cup wins.
WRT's success at Misano is not simply a matter of machinery: the team was dominant during its Audi era and hasn't missed a beat since switching to BMW. Expect its trio of Pro cars to be extremely competitive this weekend.
VALENTINO ROSSI IS CHASING MORE HOME RACE GLORY
Team WRT's line-up includes the #46 BMW of Valentino Rossi. Misano is The Doctor's home circuit and by far his most successful as a GT driver. He's on an incredible run after taking wins in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and he’s among the leading contenders again in 2026.
Having triumphed twice alongside Maxime Martin and last year with Raffaele Marciello, Rossi now shares his car with young BMW ace Max Hesse. They certainly have a great chance: Misano has always been a strong track for Team WRT and Rossi clearly benefits from the enormous local support. Don’t be surprised to see him standing on the top step again this year.
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THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF TOP-CLASS COMPETITION
Though it's fair to say that Team WRT and Lionspeed GP are the favourites for success at Misano, they certainly won't have an easy ride. Among the other likely contenders, AF Corse's Ferrari should be a factor after Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer opened the season with a victory at Brands Hatch. As ever, Mercedes-AMG squads Winward Racing and Verstappen Racing are also potential winners.
Garage 59 took victory at this track last year and will hope to kickstart its Sprint Cup campaign after a slow start at Brands Hatch; Rutronik Racing will give the Lamborghini Temerario its first outing at Misano; and Boutsen VDS will hope to honour its late patron Marc van der Straten, who passed away last week.
A total of 14 Pro crews will chase victory at Misano, with further heavyweight entries from Emil Frey Racing (Ferrari), Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) and Eastalent Racing (Audi).
AF CORSE IS THE EARLY LEADER IN GOLD
AF Corse tops the Gold Cup standings with its pairing of Tommaso Mosca and Matias Zagazeta, who scored a win and a runner-up finish at Brands Hatch. Mosca was a leading contender for overall victory at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, so keep an eye on what he can achieve on home soil.
Their most likely competition will come from McLaren squads CSA Racing and Garage 59. The latter has generally been the standout Gold Cup crew this term, though it did not enjoy a smooth start at Brands Hatch.
Here's one for the local fans: VSR will field an entirely Italian line-up with Mattia Michelotto and Loris Spinelli sharing its Lamborghini Temerario. A total of eight cars are entered in the Gold Cup, with further entries from Boutsen VDS (Porsche), KPX Motorsport (BMW) and Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi).
TEAM WRT CAN EXTEND ITS SILVER ADVANTAGE
In addition to its remarkable run of overall wins, Team WRT has also racked up several class victories at Misano. That's very good news for Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro, who head the Silver standings after collecting a win and a runner-up finish at Brands Hatch.
It's safe to say that they're the pre-event favourites, but with a 12-car field vying for class honours it should be a competitive fight. Optimum Motorsport (McLaren) and Pure Rxcing (Porsche) were both strong at the opener, while Walkenhorst Motorsport has a pair of Aston Martins in this class.
There's plenty of Italian interest with Ferrari heavyweight AF Corse – which also has two cars – and Reggio Emilia-based Dinamic GT (Porsche), as well as the Italian-German partnership at Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi). GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros (Mercedes-AMG), Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) and Razoon - more than racing (Porsche) will also field Silver Cup cars at Misano.
THIS WILL BE THE OPENING SPRINT EVENT FOR THE BRONZE CUP
Having skipped the opening round at Brands Hatch, the Bronze Cup makes its first Sprint outing of the year at Misano. Defending champions Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall are back to reclaim their title in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari. They recently scored class honours at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and will be tough to topple in Sprint.
Among their main contenders, Paradine Competition has BMW factory ace Augusto Farfus alongside Darren Leung; reigning British GT champions Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss should be strong contenders in their 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG; and Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing has added Peter Dempsey alongside team regular Eddie Cheever in its Porsche.
But the most fancied outfit to challenge the champions is Winward Racing, whose pairing of Rinat Salikhov and Marvin Dienst have been consistently impressive over the past two seasons. Further entries from GetSpeed Team Dubai (Mercedes-AMG), Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin), Dinamic GT (Porsche) and Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) bring the Bronze Cup field to 10 cars.
THERE'S ACTION AFTER DARK ON SATURDAY
There’s a perfect mix of day and night racing at Misano. The weekend's opening contest gets underway just before sunset at 20:30 on Saturday, so conditions will change dramatically over the course of the hour. By the time the chequered flag falls we will be able to enjoy the spectacular sight of headlights cutting through the darkness.
Race 2 runs at the more familiar time of 14:30 on Sunday, when the temperature will be several degrees higher. Each poses a unique challenge to the teams and drivers – not least the rapid turnaround between the two races. You can watch both, as well as a pair of qualifying sessions, live and free of charge on the GT World YouTube channel.
