It didn't take teams and drivers long before they could start acclimatizing to the Adriatic summer circumstances in Misano. In the four hours of Thursday's Official Test Session, temperatures rose ever higher and put drivers and machinery to the test from the word go.
Of the 42 cars that took to the track, it was the BCMC Motorsport powered by EastSide Motorsport #4 Mercedes-AMG of Lenerz/De Fulgencio who put in the quickest lap of the session: a 1'41.069, clocked just past midday with less than 20 minutes left in the session.
With that lap time, the Mercedes-AMG led an all-Silver Top 5 and a string of 16 cars within a single second of each other. Even if lap times are not of crucial significance in an Official Test Session, that does look promising for some very close racing action during the rest of the event.
Fastest Pro-Am entry on Thursday was again a Mercedes-AMG GT4: the #16 NM Racing Team car of Vava-Atanackovic/Knoll, while the field in Am Cup was led by the #53 W&D Racing Team BMW M4 GT4 of Tresoldi/Meloni.
With the Official Test Session done, teams and drivers start focusing on two Free Practice Sessions planned for Friday. That overnight wait will probably be the most tense at Xwift Racing Events. Their #8 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO, currently running second in the Silver Cup championship with Potty/Cheli, suffered a rather serious impact with another competitor in Thursday's session and will have to be replaced for the remainder of the Misano weekend. Drama for the championship contender, or the makings of a heroic comeback story? The next few days will tell...
Friday's Free Practice Sessions are scheduled for 11.10 and 17.30 CEST. As of Saturday, July 15, the action from Misano goes all live with qualifying at 10.00 CEST, followed by Race 1 at 17.30 CEST.
Race 2 concludes the racing action at Misano on Sunday, July 16 at 10.25 CEST.
Both qualifying and the races will be streamed live in English, French and German via the GT4 European Series website and the GTWorld YouTube channel.
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Misano – Official Paid Test Session - Results