Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde claimed their first GTWC Europe Sprint Cup victory of the season at Misano weekend after controlling Saturday evening’s Race 1 in the #32 Team WRT BMW.
A strong start placed Weerts at the head of the field before an early Safety Car interrupted the race. Team WRT then completed a clean driver change, allowing Van der Linde to retain the lead and guide the car to victory under the lights.
The result moved the defending champions level at the top of the Sprint Cup standings, while Weerts matched former teammate Dries Vanthoor’s record of 19 overall Sprint Cup victories.
Weerts capitalises on dramatic opening lap
Weerts started the race from fourth but immediately challenged the cars ahead after producing a strong launch. He drove around the outside as the field approached the opening corner and emerged at the front of the race.
Behind him, contact involving Valentino Rossi’s pole-sitting #46 Team WRT BMW, Ricardo Feller’s #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche and Andrea Frasinetti’s #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi triggered a major incident.
The contact sent Frasinetti spinning backwards across the circuit. The rest of the field avoided the Audi, but Dani Juncadella could not escape the incident in the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car. Frasinetti and Juncadella retired before they reached Turn 1, prompting Race Control to deploy the Safety Car.
Team WRT controls the restart
Weerts led Marvin Dienst in the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG and Fabian Schiller in the #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG when racing resumed.
Rossi followed in fourth, ahead of Lucas Auer’s #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, Feller’s Porsche and Tommaso Mosca’s #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
Auer, Feller and Mosca continued to fight closely behind the leading group. Feller applied pressure to the Mercedes-AMG, while Mosca remained close enough to take advantage of any mistake or contact. However, none of the three drivers managed to change positions before the pit window opened.
Van der Linde retains the advantage
Team WRT completed a strong pit stop and returned Van der Linde to the track in the lead. Dienst and Schiller lost ground because their Bronze Cup entries had to serve the category’s minimum pit-stop time.
The stewards also handed Rossi’s #46 BMW a 10-second penalty after determining that he had jumped the start.
Lionspeed GP completed the fastest pit stop of the race, allowing Bastian Buus to take over the #80 Porsche in second place. Maro Engel moved into third in the #48 Mercedes-AMG.
Engel reduced the gap to Buus during the second half of the race, but the Mercedes-AMG driver could not get close enough to launch a serious attack. At the front, Van der Linde controlled the advantage and kept the #32 BMW clear of the battle behind.
Late neutralisation confirms the result
Race Control introduced a full-course yellow with five minutes remaining after the #555 CSA Racing McLaren became stranded in the gravel.
The neutralisation remained in place until the chequered flag, confirming victory for Weerts and Van der Linde. Buus crossed the line in second for Lionspeed GP, while Engel completed the overall podium for Winward Racing.
Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen brought the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari home in fourth, making it the highest-placed Ferrari in the race.
Class victories for Tresor Attempto, Team WRT and GetSpeed
Dylan Pereira and Alex Aka converted Gold Cup pole position into class victory with the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi. The pair also finished fifth overall after completing a controlled race at the head of their category.
Max Hesse recovered to sixth in the #46 BMW following Rossi’s penalty. The #31 Team WRT BMW followed in seventh, ahead of the #84 Eastalent Racing Audi and the #50 AF Corse Ferrari.
Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro completed a successful evening for Team WRT by securing the Silver Cup victory in the #30 BMW. They finished 10th overall and gave the Belgian squad its second class win of the race.
Gabriel Rindone secured the Bronze Cup victory for the #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG following a close battle with Rinat Salikhov in the #87 Winward Racing entry.
Salikhov initially retained the class lead after the pit stops, but an apparent technical issue cost him time and allowed Rindone to move ahead. Salikhov recovered but could not reclaim the position, although he held off Dustin Blattner’s #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari to finish second in the class.
Championship lead shared after Race 1 at GTWC Europe Misano weekend
The victory moved Weerts and Van der Linde level with Feller and Buus at the top of the Sprint Cup standings. Both crews ended Race 1 at Misano with 30.5 points after the opening three races of the 2026 GTWC Europe season.
With the two pairings tied at the top, the championship battle remained closely contested ahead of Race 2.
