+ Elite McLaren and Team Speedcar Audis on top of the drama in Misano
+ Schubert still in control, but Pro-Am podium run ends
+ GR Sweden finally reaches the top step in Am
+ Elektronfest lights up the paddock
Both the McLaren and Audi marques took a turn in the sun across two absorbing GT4 European Series races at Misano this weekend, with Elite Motorsport and Team Speedcar splitting the wins.
Despite several near-misses for both teams already this season, both the British and French squads produced controlled performances to score a victory apiece in Italy, and in doing so closed up the title fight nicely with just four races remaining this season.
McKenzy Cresswell and Charlie Hart fought from fourth on the grid to win a crazy opening contest in which each of the top three runners retired, while Paul Petit and Gregory Guilvert made no mistake in Race 2, controlling proceedings from pole to secure their first win of the year.
GT4 again formed a key part of the GT World package, joining the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli and McLaren Trophy Europe to support a packed GT World Challenge Sprint Cup grid that produced two action-packed headline races under the searing sun.
SILVER BATTLE CLOSES UP WITH NEW WINNERS
Victories for both Elite’s McLaren and Team Speedcar’s Audi came as a welcome boost in the fight for the Silver title, especially with the championship leading SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG again enduring an off-colour weekend.
Enrico Förderer and Cedric Fuchs’ points lead has now been cut to just 22 – less than a race win – after the German duo could only manage a pair of ninth-place finishes. In contrast all of the crews chasing them scored significantly better, which will lead to a tense final four races.
Cresswell and Hart finally got their first victory in the opener, but needed more than a little luck. The #78 McLaren ran third but was vaulted up the order after the race-leading #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG retired with an alternator belt failure and Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani’s luckless #1 Audi succumbed to an ABS problem – both incidents happening within a lap of each other.
Guilvert and Petit chased the McLaren home in second, while third also changed late on as Michiel Haverans and Sam Paley lost a podium place to broken suspension, allowing the charging Speedy Motorsport Toyota shared by Mees Houben and Lachlan Evennett into the top three.
Elite’s luck would change in Race 2 when Hart was taken out of the lead fight by a puncture, removing the biggest threat to the twin Speedcar Audis as Petit/Guilvert led Consani/Lariche home in a hard-earned one-two, completing a big score for Guilvert and Petit. TeamFloral Mustang drivers Paley and Haverans finally got to celebrate their third podium in as many events with a late pass on the Gabriele Piana/Thomas Rackl Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW. Retirement after a Race 1 collision may have hurt the Borusan crew initially, but the solid points for fourth move them closer to the championship leaders than ever.
Schubert Motorsport’s perfect Pro-Am podium run finally came to an end, but a second and a fourth for Joakim Walde and Victor Bouveng leaves them firmly in control of the title fight. Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead won Race 1 for Elite but retired after a clash in the finale, leaving Sacha Bottemanne and Viny Beltramelli to double Speedcar’s joy.
While W&S Motorsport drivers Daniel Blickle and Max Kronberg comfortably won the opener to extend their Am lead, a spin and a puncture cost them in the second. That allowed Mikael and Christoffer Brunnhagen to claim their breakthrough GT4 Europe win in their third season together aboard the GR Sweden Toyota.
DANCE AND DINE ON THE ITALIAN COAST
Alongside the track action Misano also offered a first-class range of fan activities, headlined by the new Elektronfest, which proved a smash hit on Saturday night. A huge open-air stage in the heart of the paddock proved the perfect scene for some of Italy’s leading electronic dance acts, with artists including Planet Funk, DJ Ralf and L3UM4S wowing the crowds.
The innovative Dinner in the Sky hoisted hundreds of revellers high above the track to enjoy a food and drink experience like no other, offering unrivalled aerial views of the racing while the traditional pit walks, autograph session and open paddocks gave plenty of chances for fans to get up close to the GT4 Europe stars and their cars throughout the weekend.
The GT4 European Series returns to action at Zandvoort in The Netherlands across September 18-20.
