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Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI Silverstone CEO Stuart Pringle has outlined an ambition for the British track to become the “next biggest” race on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar behind the 24 Hours of Le Mans after securing a deal to return to the calendar next year. The home of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, and a former staple of the WEC schedule prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, was confirmed as part of the 2027 calendar when it was revealed at Le Mans last month with an April date. It marks the start of a new four-year deal with promoter Le Mans Endurance Management that will see Silverstone host WEC events at least through to 2030. Pringle told selected media including Sportscar365 that he’s already “looking beyond this four-year deal” as it seeks to tap into its primarily Formula 1-derived fanbase to build up interest in the revived 6 Hours of Silverstone. “This is a genuine partnership with WEC,” he said. “We...

Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: JEP/SRO Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts completed a clean sweep of the Misano GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup weekend with victory in Race 2. Whereas their Race 1 triumph was never in doubt after Weerts took a decisive lead at the start, their BMW M4 GT3 EVO only hit the front in Race 2 thanks to some rapid WRT pitwork. Polesitter Jules Gounon’s No. 3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo held the lead throughout the opening stint under constant pressure from van der Linde, and the pair entered the pits nose-to-tail at the end of lap 20. However, WRT’s mechanics turned the No. 32 BMW around quickest to get Weerts out ahead of Dani Juncadella, who couldn’t get back on terms in the remainder of the 60-minute race and finished 2.97 seconds in arrears. The victory was a record-extending 20th in the Sprint Cup for four-time series champion Weerts, who along with van der Linde now leads the championship after Lionspeed GP’s Ba...

Photo: JEP/SRO Jules Gounon set the fastest time in qualifying for the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup Race 2 at Misano by narrowly pipping Kelvin van der Linde. Substituting for Sprint Cup regular Chris Lulham in the No. 3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO as the Briton recovers from a medical procedure, Gounon responded after losing a provisional pole lap to a track limits infringement with a further improvement that knocked van der Linde off the top spot. Gounon’s 1:32.017 effort was just 0.057 seconds faster than the No. 32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo which took victory in Race 1 on Saturday evening and marked his first Sprint Cup pole since Magny-Cours 2024. A strong effort from Kobe Pauwels in the No. 7 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO secured third, 0.068 shy of pole, and put the 21-year-old ahead of Max Hesse’s No. 46 WRT BMW which started Race 1 from pole. Arthur Leclerc improved late on to start fifth in his No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 29...

Photo: JEP/SRO Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde took a comfortable GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup victory in Race 1 at Misano. As the sun faded into full darkness by the end of the one-hour race, Weerts and van der Linde’s No. 32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO cruised to win by 19.65 seconds over the Lionspeed Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus. Contact at the start proved decisive in the outcome, as Weerts got an excellent launch while polesitter Valentino Rossi’s No. 46 WRT BMW and fellow front-row starter Alessandro Frassineti (Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II) both appeared slow away. Feller attempted to take advantage and split the pair but, as the Italian duo converged, contact was made that unsettled both Rossi and Frassineti while also delaying Feller. Frassineti was bounced into Marvin Dienst’s Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO and the secondary contact spun the Audi across the bows of the luckless Dani Juncad...

Photo: JEP/SRO Valentino Rossi took a popular pole position for the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup Race 1 at Misano after a dramatic qualifying session interrupted by a red flag. Rossi’s No. 46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO lapped in 1:32.154, putting him 0.141 seconds clear of Sprint Cup points leader Ricardo Feller’s No. 80 Lionspeed Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO in the A session for Pro and Gold Cup entrants. His hopes of clinging on to the top spot were aided by an early red flag in the B session for Silver and Bronze runners, when Dennis Marschall spun his Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO into the Turn 4 gravel after contact with Felix Hirsiger’s No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari on an outlap. Andrea Frassineti came closest to dislodging Rossi with a best lap just 0.099 seconds shy in his No. 66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, but the motorcycle racing legend wasn’t to be denied a milestone outright pole at the scene of his three previous Sprint...

Christopher Haase clocked the fastest time during practice for the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup meeting at Misano. As the Sprint Cup returned following a two-month break since the Brands Hatch season opener, Haase headed the 44-car field with a 1:32.347 lap in the second of two 80-minute sessions held on Friday. The No. 84 Eastalent Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II Haase shares with Simon Reicher lapped 0.393 seconds quicker than Aurelien Panis in the No. 6 GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to raise hopes of a record-extending eleventh win at the track for Audi in the Sprint Cup. Times were quicker in the second session held in fading light, in conditions similar to those predicted for Saturday evening’s Race 1, with temperatures marginally lower than in the mid-afternoon which peaked at 86.54°F. Fabian Schiller led the way in opening practice on a 1:32.868 aboard the No. 12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG he shares with Gabriel Rindone in ...