WRT gets crucial Misano sweep in GTWC Europe

Two out of two, the standings lead and some sort of relief from what is being a suffocating title fight, the FANATEC GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup weekend at Misano brought a lot of benefits to the No. 32 WRT Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 crew of Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor.

The title race was in the first two rows in Race 1, and the No. 32 WRT Audi used the fast No. 112 JP McLaren to guard the lead from the No. 89 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes, at least until the Safety Car was on track due to multiple accidents halfway into the first lap.

The No. 32 could benefit from not having the No. 112 too close and the sister No. 30 WRT Audi pressing the No. 89 for third, but with the Silver Cup lead secure, Thomas Neubauer wouldn’t do any silly moves to risk handing the position to the No. 53 AF Corse Ferrari. Things were going more into Charles Weerts’ way as the No. 32 was just stretching the gap to the No. 112 and the No. 89 was falling more and more into the No. 30’s strike zone.

The lead battle at the moment took more priority than the long term run, so pretty much everybody in the top 4 pack jumped immediately to the pits, which only served to throw the No. 112 out of contention and for the No. 89 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes to leave the No. 30 WRT Audi behind, thanks to a series of fast laps from Raffaele Marciello.

The remaining 25 minutes since the closing of the pit window were of Marciello trying to chase Dries Vanthoor to mount an attack, but with both drivers running on similar pace during the whole time, the No. 32 WRT Audi just had to cross the finish line to get the win.

The No. 30 WRT Audi was isolated in the Silver Cup lead thanks to the third place overall, but this didn’t Benjamin Goethe would open the door to the Pro Cup cars, defending from the No. 11 Car Collection Audi to keep the pair of podiums. The No. 188 Garage 59 McLaren completed the list of winners with a comfortable Pro-Am Cup triumph.

GTWC Europe - Misano Race 1 results

On Race 2 the No. 88 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes was benefiting from having Marciello starting, but he was trapped behind three Audis, with the title rival being covered by the sister No. 33 WRT Audi. The No. 32 WRT Audi was ready to go away but five corners into the first lap were enough to see chaos and the Safety Car getting in.

The chasing pack lost contact with Dries Vanthoor in the No. 32, and with WRT having a secure lead and no changes at all, the No. 11 Car Collection Audi was the first to pit, with the No. 32 WRT Audi coming in a lap later, while the No. 33 WRT Audi and the No. 89 Akkodis-ASP Mercedes pitting as late as the pit window allowed, with Akkodis-ASP doing the magic to put the No. 89 in second to chase the fast No. 32.

Timur Boguslavskiy tried, but he could only do so much to match Charles Weerts’ laps, and while a late Safety Car gave a little hope, a combination of lack of time and traffic in front held back the No. 89, with Boguslavskiy having to watch the No. 32 WRT Audi complete the sweep.

GTWC Europe - Misano Race 2 results

Despite the late threat of the No. 99 Attempto Audi the No. 53 AF Corse Ferrari took Silver Cup honors by mixing with the Pro Cup cars during most of the race, while the No. 188 Garage 59 McLaren was another entry that completed a full sweep, being the king of the Pro-Am Cup.

In the Sprint Cup standings, the No. 32 crew leads with 109.5 points against 98 of the No. 89 crew, and with 35 points left at disposal, Marciello and Boguslavskiy practically are in a position where they cannot afford another loss to Weerts and Vanthoor, under risk that the Race 1 in Valencia could be the title decider.

The final double for the Sprint Cup will be held on 17-18 September at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo.

PHOTOS: SRO/Twenty-One Creation/Jules Benichou, Patrick Hecq