Valentino Rossi secured his maiden GTWC Europe pole position during the opening qualifying session at Misano, delivering a 1:32.154 for Team WRT in front of his home crowd.
The Italian placed the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO at the top of the 43-car field, beating Silver Cup leader Andrea Frassineti by just 0.099 seconds. Championship leader Ricardo Feller completed the overall top three for Lionspeed GP, while Fabian Schiller and Dylan Pereira claimed the Bronze Cup and Gold Cup poles respectively.
Split format creates an anxious wait for Rossi
Qualifying 1 at the GTWC Europe round at Misano used a split-session format, with the Pro and Gold Cup entries contesting the opening 10-minute segment before the Silver and Bronze Cup cars took to the circuit for the second half.
Rossi therefore had to set his time during the first segment and wait while several quick drivers from the remaining classes attempted to beat his benchmark. The format created two separate battles for track position and gave the drivers only a short window in which to prepare their tyres and complete a representative flying lap.
The opening part of qualifying ran without interruption, allowing the Pro and Gold Cup runners to complete their planned laps. Rossi immediately made full use of the pace available from the #46 BMW and established the time that ultimately secured pole.
Rossi delivers in front of his home crowd
The Italian set his 1:32.154 on his third timed lap and remained the only driver to break into the 1:32.1s. His performance placed the #46 Team WRT BMW, which he shares with Max Hesse, at the front of the grid for the opening race of the weekend.
The Qualifying 1 result at Misano marked Rossi’s first ROWE Pole Position Award in GTWC Europe competition. It also gave Team WRT its first pole position in the series for two years, ending the Belgian squad’s wait for another qualifying success.
Rossi’s achievement carried additional significance because it came at Misano, where he competed in front of his home supporters. The Italian has previously enjoyed strong results at the circuit, but Qualifying 1 produced his first outright pole in the championship.
Frassineti comes within a tenth of pole
Andrea Frassineti provided Rossi’s strongest challenge during the second half of the session. The Tresor Attempto Racing driver produced a 1:32.253 in the #66 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, finishing only 0.099 seconds behind the pole-winning BMW.
Frassineti set his fastest time on his fifth lap and secured second place overall alongside the Silver Cup pole. His performance placed a class entry on the front row and continued his competitive start to the Misano weekend after he finished third overall in FP1 and fifth in FP2.
The young Italian came closer than any of the established Pro drivers to denying Rossi pole. Although he fell just short of the overall benchmark, he established a comfortable advantage over the other Silver Cup contenders.
J driver Day placed the #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin second in the Silver Cup and 12th overall with a 1:32.709. Maxime Lismont followed in the #30 Team WRT BMW, taking third in class and 16th overall on a 1:32.896.
Feller secures third for Lionspeed GP
Ricardo Feller qualified third overall in the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R. The championship leader set a 1:32.295 on his third lap, finishing 0.141 seconds behind Rossi and only 0.042 seconds away from Frassineti.
Feller entered the Misano weekend as the Sprint Cup championship leader and a recent CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa winner. His place on the second row maintained his strong form and gave the Lionspeed GP Porsche a competitive starting position for the opening race.
The Porsche driver led a tightly packed group of Pro entries behind the front row. Only 0.153 seconds separated Feller in third from Dani Juncadella in seventh, highlighting the fine margins that defined the leading positions.
Weerts puts a second Team WRT BMW inside the top four
Charles Weerts placed the #32 Team WRT BMW fourth overall after recording a 1:32.405. He finished 0.251 seconds behind his team-mate and gave WRT two cars inside the first two rows of the provisional starting grid.
The result strengthened Team WRT’s position ahead of Race 1, with Rossi taking pole and Weerts remaining within striking distance of the leaders. Weerts completed his quickest lap on his fourth tour of the circuit, finishing 0.110 seconds behind Feller’s Porsche.
Lucas Auer completed the overall top five in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG. His 1:32.429 left him only 0.024 seconds behind Weerts and 0.275 seconds away from Rossi’s pole time.
Schiller claims Bronze Cup pole
Fabian Schiller secured the Bronze Cup pole for GetSpeed Team Dubai after placing sixth overall in the #12 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. The FP1 pace-setter produced a 1:32.440 on his fifth lap, finishing just 0.286 seconds behind Rossi.
Schiller beat several Pro entries and led a strong group of Mercedes-AMG cars. His time placed him only 0.011 seconds behind Auer and eight thousandths ahead of Juncadella’s Pro-entered Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car.
Marvin Dienst secured second in the Bronze Cup and eighth overall for Winward Racing. He recorded a 1:32.489, finishing 0.049 seconds behind Schiller.
Kobey Jewiss placed the #222 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG third in the Bronze Cup and 11th overall with a 1:32.617. Mercedes-AMG therefore occupied the first three positions in the class and placed five cars inside the overall top 11.
Juncadella qualifies seventh for Verstappen Racing
Dani Juncadella put the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry seventh overall with a 1:32.448. The Spaniard finished 0.294 seconds behind Rossi and only eight thousandths slower than Schiller.
Juncadella shared the car with Jules Gounon at Misano after Gounon replaced the unwell Chris Lulham. The #3 Mercedes-AMG remained among the leading runners throughout the weekend and secured a place on the fourth row for Race 1.
Dienst followed Juncadella in eighth, leaving only 0.041 seconds between the three Mercedes-AMG entries from sixth to eighth. The small gap demonstrated how closely matched the manufacturer’s leading cars were during the short qualifying session.
Pereira leads the Gold Cup order
Dylan Pereira claimed the Gold Cup pole for Tresor Attempto Racing after qualifying ninth overall in the #99 Audi. His 1:32.564 placed him 0.410 seconds behind the overall benchmark.
Pereira narrowly defeated Tommaso Mosca in the battle for class pole. The AF Corse driver set a 1:32.583 in the #51 Ferrari and finished 10th overall, only 0.019 seconds behind Pereira.
Simon Gachet completed the Gold Cup top three for CSA Racing. His 1:33.084 placed the #555 McLaren 21st overall and 0.520 seconds behind Pereira’s class-leading Audi.
Ferrari contact causes a Red Flag
While the first half of the session ran without interruption, race control stopped the second segment shortly after it began following contact between two Ferrari entries in the pit exit area.
Dennis Marschall was leaving the pits in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari when he made contact with Felix Hirsiger’s #71 AF Corse car. The impact sent Marschall into a spin before his Ferrari came to rest in the gravel.
Marschall managed to drive out of the gravel, but race control had already displayed the red flag. Hirsiger also continued after the incident, despite sustaining cosmetic damage to the door of his Ferrari 296 GT3.
Marschall recovered to qualify 13th overall and fourth in the Bronze Cup with a 1:32.813. Hirsiger finished 33rd overall and seventh in the Silver Cup after setting a 1:33.476.
Tight margins define the leading order
The qualifying field produced narrow gaps throughout the order. Only 0.141 seconds covered Rossi, Frassineti and Feller in the leading three positions, while Auer, Schiller and Juncadella finished within 0.019 seconds of one another from fifth to seventh.
The first 11 cars all finished within half a second of pole. Jewiss occupied 11th place with a 1:32.617, only 0.463 seconds slower than Rossi’s benchmark.
Eighteen cars ended Qualifying 1 within eight tenths of the fastest time, with Marvin Kirchhöfer placing the #59 Garage 59 McLaren 18th on a 1:32.927. Twenty-five drivers finished inside one second of pole, underlining the importance of every fraction of a second around Misano.
Of the 43 cars that started the session, 42 received classified times. The #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari did not receive a classified result, while race control cancelled selected lap times for track-limit infringements.
Rossi earns the best starting position for Race 1
Rossi ultimately held on to the fastest time despite Frassineti’s late challenge during the second segment. His 0.099-second advantage secured his first GT World Challenge Europe pole and placed Team WRT at the front of the grid for Saturday evening’s opening race.
Frassineti will share the front row after taking Silver Cup pole, while Feller and Weerts will start directly behind them. Schiller will begin the race from sixth as the leading Bronze Cup driver, with Pereira starting ninth after securing the Gold Cup pole.
