Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor are the reigning GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup champions. They won the title in 2020, repeated victory in 2021 and a year later are in a position to get their particular ‘triple crown’. The Belgian duo of Team WRT was a real cyclone in Misano to get the two pole positions and two victories at stake with the #32 Audi. Top score, perfect weekend and 11.5 points ahead of their closest rivals before the last round of the season.
The performance of Weerts and Vanthoor in Misano was impeccable. From Charles Weerts’ pole position on Saturday to Weerts’ own final victory on Sunday, the #32 Audi pair had no rival. Raffaele Marciello and Timur Boguslavskiy tried, but the #89 Mercedes drivers couldn’t stop the leaders. The Akkodis-ASP pilots minimized damage, with two second places with those who still arrive with title options to Valenciaeven if they are against the ropes in this Sprint Cup.
The difference of 11.5 points between the drivers of the Audi #32 and the Mercedes #89 It leaves the latter in a delicate position ahead of the Valencia event, but at least the championship is still alive. The fight for third place overall will also be decided at the last round of the seasonwith Jim Pla starting off with a certain advantage by adding 54 points, for the 47.5 that Simon Gachet and Christopher Haase have and the 45 that the couple formed by Ulysse De Pauw and Pierre-Alexandre Jean add in the #53 Ferrari.
Precisely, Ulysse De Pauw and Pierre-Alexandre Jean are already the first champions of the category after winning the Silver Cup title. The AF Corse duo add 121 points, compared to the 76.5 that Nicolas Schöll and Alex Aka have, thus certifying the silver crown of the contest by having an advantage greater than the 35 points that are still up for grabs. At least, Valencia will witness the fight for the Silver Cup runner-up between at least four crews.
The title of the Pro-Am Cup does take Valencia alive, even if the performance of Miguel Ramos and Dean MacDonald in Misano was impeccable. The couple of The #188 McLaren emulated their #32 Audi rivals in the Pro-Am Cup with two wins and two pole positions to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Although Andrea Bertolini and Louis Machiels finished second in both races, the difference between both crews is 20.5 points. Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and the couple formed by Patryk Krupinski and Christian Klien still have a minimal title option.
Photos: GT World Challenge Europe