Neither the No. 563 FFF Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 nor the No. 2 WRT Audi R8 LMS GT3 had easy wins in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe races at Misano, with the tight Italian venue keeping the racing close due to intense competition.
Starting the Race 1 in the sunset, Charles Weerts put the No. 2 WRT Audi in the lead with the No. 563 FFF Lamborghini following in second. Andrea Caldarelli had the home advantage and opted to play the pressure game on Weerts, which eventually worked for the Lamborghini.
Weerts tried to keep the pace up to stay with Caldarelli, but a badly judged braking point sent the No. 2 Audi to a spin, promoting the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes to second just before the Safety Car gets in. The yellow flag period lasted near 10 minutes, with the green flag being near the pit window opening, with little changes as most of the competition opted for early stops.
With the No. 25 Sainteloc Audi stopped without a wheel, the second yellow flag came with 20 minutes to go, with 8 minutes spent behind the Safety Car. When the green was back, the No. 563 FFF Lamborghini had to hold position and not allow room for the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes to pass.
Marciello kept the No. 88 close to the No. 563, and even trying the best moves possible in the final 10 minutes there was no way to pass the Lamborghini, so FFF Racing got Race 1.
The No. 90 AKKA-ASP Mercedes dominated the Silver Cup and finished in the overall top 5, and AF Corse held the Pro-Am Cup win with the No. 52 Ferrari. The No. 444 HB Racing Ferrari conquered the Am Cup win as the competition retired.
Race 2 had an equally safe start but with Raffaele Marciello leading the way in the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes, while most of the field was going at least side by side at speed to find space.
Marciello soon found himself under pressure with the No. 2 WRT Audi and the No. 25 Sainteloc Audi, though Marciello eventually was able to open a gap which was nullified by a full course yellow near halfway into the race.
A delayed pit window meant more time to work on strategies, and this worked for the No. 2 WRT Audi, now with Charles Weerts at the wheel, taking the lead and opening a gap to the No. 25 Sainteloc Audi just after the pit stop, with the No. 88 being put out of contention due to pit stop issues.
The No. 563 FFF Lamborghini passed the No. 25 Audi for second with ease and started chasing the No. 2 WRT Audi, but Andrea Caldarelli could only reduce the gap to 2 seconds as time ran out, meaning that Charles Weerts just had to bring the No. 2 home for the win.
The No. 89 AKKA-ASP Mercedes conquered the Silver Cup while the No. 333 Rinaldi Ferrari controlled the Pro-Am Cup from lights to flag, and the No. 444 HB Racing Ferrari did the same in the Am Cup.
The next event is the return to Zandvoort on July 13th and 14th, but some squads and drivers will have work to this Tuesday (2) and Wednesday (3) with the test days for the TOTAL 24 Hours of Spa.
POST RACE UPDATE:
The No. 333 Rinaldi Ferrari had a contact in the late stages of the Race 2, and it was punished with a 30 second increase in its final time, which promoted the No. 519 FFF Lamborghini from second to the Pro-Am Cup win.
POST RACE UPDATE:
The No. 333 Rinaldi Ferrari had a contact in the late stages of the Race 2, and it was punished with a 30 second increase in its final time, which promoted the No. 519 FFF Lamborghini from second to the Pro-Am Cup win.
PHOTOS - SRO
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