Written by Owen Bradley
The No.30 BMW WRT of Ahmad Al-Harthy, Sam De Haan and Jens Klingmann won the GT World Challenge Endurance race at Monza after a pit stop strategy masterclass, they led home a WRT 1-2 from the No.52 BMW squad, as the No.51 Ferrari rounded out the podium places.
The GT World Challenge Endurance race at Misano was defined by incredible strategy calls and multiple Safety Cars after debris and crashes, the race won by the No.50 BMW WRT team who compete in the Bronze cup.
There would be an incredibly chaotic start for the 50-car field, with the No.48 Mercedes cutting across the track and causing a huge pileup crash at Turn 1, with the No.32 WRT BMW of Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts being spun around, picking up some damage.
Raffaele Marciello in the No.46 WRT BMW managed to overtake multiple drivers at the end of the first lap, going from seventh place to third.
The No.51 Ferrari still held the lead of the race, as the circuit went under the Full Course Yellow and later, the Safety Car.
The No.22 Porsche and No.46 BMW would duel in the pit stops shortly after the race was back to green flag running, with the WRT BMW crew managing to put the No.46 driven by Valentino Rossi, into second place.
This would not last long, with the No.22 Porsche of Kevin Estre eventually coming through to overtake Rossi. However, just a few laps later, the Porsche would run onto the grass heading into the Ascari chicane, sending the Porsche into a half spin, as the car became trapped in the gravel.
With multiple other cars colliding at Turns 1 and 4, debris would be sprayed all over the circuit. Another long period behind the Full Course Yellow and Safety Car would mix the strategies around, with Lamborghini and Aston Martin cars picking up punctures from some debris on the circuit.
Rossi would come back into the pits, handing the car over to Maxime Martin after only racing for around half an hour. Meanwhile, multiple cars at the front of the field stayed out on the circuit including the No.991 BMW, the No.30 BMW and the No.99 Audi, along with the No.998 BMW as well.
The No.51 Ferrari, No.46 BMW and No.48 Mercedes would all duel with one another, as many believed that they were running in effective first, second and third position. With just 30 minutes remaining, they had all completed their mandatory driver stint times and pit stops, with the Ferrari and BMW completing an extra pit stop under the FCY.
The No.51 Ferrari would drive incredibly fast, catching the leaders with just a few laps remaining. However, the Ferrari would come to blows with the No.32 BMW WRT at Turn 1, cutting across the chicane on the final lap as they closed onto the rear of the leading No.30 BMW WRT.
Despite closing down on the leaders, Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No.51 Ferrari would cease position to the No.32 BMW WRT car after cutting the chicane, with the cars finishing in second and third. Jake Dennis would bring the BMW Century Motorsport No. 991 to fourth place across the finish line, despite the team picking up a penalty which would drop them to seventh place.
Pier Guidi in the No.51 Ferrari would appear baffled by the result when being interviewed, as the Italian was under the impression that those cars ahead still needed to pit, and that the Ferrari would take the chequered flag.
Valentino Rossi's BMW No.46 squad would end up finishing in fifth place, also confused by the result after running inside the podium places until the final half hour. Fifth place ensures that the No.46 BMW team secure one of their best results in the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup.
The GT World Challenge Europe returns in a few weeks time for the GT Sprint Cup at Catalunya in Barcelona.
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