Valentino Rossi knows his way around Misano. On Saturday, during the third Sprint weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe, he added another chapter to his growing GT3 resume by winning Race 1 with co-driver Raffaele Marciello in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It was Rossi’s third straight win at his home track, and this one came with even more pressure—racing in front of thousands of fans just a few kilometers from his hometown of Tavullia.
The win wasn’t a lucky break. Marciello delivered a strong opening stint, handing the car over to Rossi in a good position. From there, Rossi held firm, managing traffic and pressure to bring the car home first. Behind them, the #32 BMW of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde secured third place, locking in a double podium for BMW M Team WRT on Saturday. The only car splitting them was the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, giving Italian fans plenty to cheer for.
Sunday Was a Different Story
Race 2 didn’t go as planned for Rossi and Marciello. They started second and were in the fight for the lead early on, but a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane killed any shot at another win. Marciello had been pushing hard, and the small mistake proved costly. The #46 car fell out of contention and never recovered.
Meanwhile, the sister #32 BMW had its own fight. Starting 15th after a poor qualifying session, van der Linde and Weerts made up ground quickly. The race was red-flagged for more than two hours due to a major crash, but once things resumed, the duo clawed their way up to fifth, picking up solid points and holding onto a tie for the Sprint Cup championship lead.
Other BMW Results
It was a rough weekend for Jens Klingmann and Al Faisal Al Zubair in the #777 AlManar Racing BMW. After a solid second-place qualifying effort in the Gold class, their race ended in Turn 1 on Saturday with heavy damage. That crash also meant a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday. Starting 35th, they pushed back to P4 in the Gold category, just missing the class podium.
In the Silver Cup, Gustav Bergström and Gilles Stadsbader bounced back from a P4 finish on Saturday to score third in class on Sunday, bringing some points home for Team WRT.
Dan Harper and Darren Leung took second place in the Bronze Cup on Saturday for Century Motorsport, but Sunday unraveled quickly. First, they were penalized for their role in the red flag incident, and later again for an unsafe release. That effectively ended their chances for a repeat podium.
Championship Outlook
Despite missing the podium on Sunday, Weerts and van der Linde still came away with what they needed. With 106 points, they now sit tied at the top of the Sprint Cup driver standings with Lucas Auer and Maro Engel. BMW Team WRT continues to lead the team championship.
Rossi’s win may not have moved the needle in the overall standings, but it cemented something else: Misano is his turf. Three years in a row, three wins. Whether on two wheels or four, he still knows how to deliver in front of a home crowd.
