The 2024 GT World Challenge Europe season comes into full swing next weekend (17-19 May) when a field of 36 cars takes on a pair of Sprint Cup races at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
The Italian venue will host the series for the 10th consecutive year and follows by two weeks Brands Hatch, where the opening event of the year took place. While the British event saw the participation of three classes, the entire team will take to the track at Misano thanks to the addition of a highly competitive Bronze Cup Class group, which will bring another 11 cars to the Romagna circuit.
The drivers will face a weekend with a unique format, with free practice, pre-qualifying and qualifying scheduled for Friday, while the two races will take place on Saturday. With the second race starting after sunset on the Adriatic, the drivers will face the only night-time Sprint Cup stage of the season, something that hasn’t happened since 2021.
#48 Winward Racing, Merdeces AMG GT3: Maro Engel, Lucas Auer
Photo by: SRO
Auer and Engel in the lead after a stellar weekend
Brands Hatch couldn’t have gone better for Winward Racing. Decked out in the “Mamba” livery, the #48 Mercedes-AMG scored a podium in the first race before winning the second from pole. Maro Engel and Lucas Auer are therefore leading the general classification of the Sprint Cup before the Italian trip.
Winward Racing leads ahead of a trio of PRO drivers representing Mercedes-AMG. Boutsen VDS took their first ever podium at Brands Hatch and hopes to repeat that with the #9 crew of Jules Gounon and Maximilian Götz, while Madpanda Motorsport continues in the premier class with Ezequiel Perez Companc and Alexander Sims sharing the #90 car .
Team WRT is also expected to be a top contender with the #32 BMW of Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts, who opened the Sprint Cup season with a victory in Great Britain. The Belgian crew boasts a truly exceptional record at Misano, with seven victories, of which clear ones in 2021 and 2022. They are joined by the #46 car of Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin, who achieved a famous success on this circuit a year ago.
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari started the season impressively, taking two second places at Brands Hatch. The trophies were shared between the 296 GT3s – the #14 of Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen and the #69 of Thierry Vermeulen and Giacomo Altoè – who are expected to be competitive again this weekend.
Tresor Attempto Racing, the series’ reigning champions, kicked off their title defense with a pair of fourth-place finishes for Ricardo Feller and Alex Aka in the #99 Audi, although the #88 sister car of Christopher Haase and Lorenzo Ferrari did not achieve results at Brands Hatch.
Garage 59 achieved 5th and 6th place on home soil, giving the #159 McLaren of Tom Gamble and Benjamin Goethe a solid points base for the rest of the season.
Brands Hatch proved to be a challenging weekend for Rutronik Racing, who stayed out of the points in Race 1 and battled to an eighth-place finish in Race 2. Porsche factory drivers Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller will aim to do more in Misano.
The debut was even more difficult for Comtoyou Racing, who showed good pace but left Brands Hatch without points. Mattia Drudi grew up a few kilometers from the Misano circuit and hopes to convert his local knowledge into important results together with Nicolas Baert.
#7 –Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO: Mattia Drudi, Nicolas Baert
Photo by: SRO
No favorites among the Bronze Cup competitors
At Misano the Bronze Cup will make its first appearance of the season in a Sprint event, adding 11 more cars to the grid. This is the most difficult class to predict; there are some really strong lines, but only one will celebrate when the Sprint Cup concludes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
As always, we can expect Garage 59 to bring a competitive package. The #188 McLaren will be shared by Miguel Ramos – two-time Sprint Cup Pro-Am champion – and Louis Prette, who showed impressive speed in the first round of the Endurance Cup last month.
Century Motorsport introduces Darren Leung, who helped the team take the British GT drivers’ crown last year. For the assault on the Sprint Cup, the Englishman will resume his collaboration with title-winning BMW ace Dan Harper at the wheel of the M4.
With a trophy cabinet that includes British GT titles and class victories at the Spa 24 Hours, Barwell Motorsport has significant pedigree. The Lamborghini team will field a pair of drivers at Misano, with Gabriel Rindone and Patrick Kujala in the #72 and the 2020 British GT champions, Rob Collard and Sandy Mitchell, sharing the #78. Imperiale Racing will also represent the Sant’Agata Bolognese brand at its home event, with Dmitry Gvazava and Ugo De Wilde sharing the #85 Huracan.
#85 Imperiale Racing, Lamborghini Huraran GT3 EVO2: Ugo De Wilde, Dmitry Gvazava
Photo by: Imperiale Racing
Tresor Attempto Racing, last year’s class leader, returns with its #66 Audi. Andrey Mukovoz remains for a second season with the team, joined by his regular Endurance Cup partner Dylan Pereira.
Sky Tempesta Racing will aim to achieve GTWC success once again, with drivers Jonathan Hui and Chris Froggatt sharing the unmistakable #93 Ferrari.
A trio of Porsches completes the Bronze Cup line-up. Schumacher CLRT is a new collaboration between automotive entrepreneur Edouard Schumacher and the Côme Ledogar team. There are no changes to the lineup that represented the CLRT last year, with Stephane Denoual teaming with Steven Palette in the #44 car.
Dinamic GT will field Philipp Sager and Marvin Dienst, while Rutronik Racing will be able to count on Dustin Blattner and Dennis Marschall, the latter having moved from Tresor Attempto Racing after proving highly effective in 2023.
#93 Sky-Tempesta Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3: Eddie Cheever, Jonathan Hui, Chris Froggatt
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati ​​| AG Photo
All open in Gold Cup and Silver Cup
Another 13 cars from the Gold Cup and Silver Cup classes make up the Misano entry list. Both were hotly contested at Brands Hatch, with the Gold class proving particularly happy for Audi.
Liqui Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup (Luca Engstler and Max Hofer) won Race 1 ahead of CSA Racing (Lucas Légeret and Simon Gachet), while Saintéloc Racing (Paul Evrard and Gilles Magnus) came third. In the second race, Saintéloc held off the Engstler-managed team to take victory, while CSA completed the podium.
Racing Team Turkey also has high hopes for Misano, after Charlie Eastwood set the fastest race lap at Brands Hatch. He will once again share the #51 Ferrari with Salih Yoluç.
The #21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin of Matisse Lismont and James Jakes completes the Gold Cup line-up and will aim to bounce back from a difficult weekend in England.
With Brands Hatch as an example, the Silver Cup promises to be highly competitive. Boutsen VDS leads the standings with the #10 Mercedes-AMG crew of Aurélien Panis and César Gazeau, who secured class honors and an excellent Top5 overall in the opening race. Second went to the #71 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Eliseo Donno and Thomas Fleming, who demonstrated impressive speed during their debut.
If there is a new winner, Team WRT’s BMW #30 is the main candidate. Sam De Haan and Calan Williams took a pair of podiums at Brands Hatch and can draw on Team WRT’s past success at Misano.
The #52 AF Corse 296 of Sean Hudspeth and Jef Machiels finished fourth in both races of the opener, so a podium is the logical goal for Misano. Winward Racing also scored good points with the young duo of Reece Barr and Magnus Gustavsen sharing the #57 Mercedes-AMG.
There’s a change at Comtoyou Racing, with 17-year-old Lorens Lecertua joining Dante Rappange in the #12 Aston Martin.
Saintéloc Racing will once again race its #26 Audi for Ivan Klymenko, whose teammate has not yet been confirmed. The Eurodent GSM Team faced a difficult opening weekend after James Kell withdrew due to illness, forcing Marcus Påverud to run both races alone. Pietro Delli Guanti and Marco Butti have been confirmed as the drivers of the Monegasque team, which completes the list of 36 registered at Misano.
THE PROGRAM
FRIDAY 16 MAY
2.00pm-5.00pm: Paid testing session
FRIDAY 17 MAY
09.00-10.40: Free practice
3.50pm-4.50pm: Pre-qualifications
9.10pm-9.40pm: Qualifying
SATURDAY 18 MAY
2.00pm-3.00pm: Race 1
9.00pm-10.00pm: Race 2
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