+ Result, Qualifying 1, Misano
+ Result, Qualifying 2, Misano
Misano lap record holder Robert Consani continued his hot streak at the Italian circuit by bagging another pole for the points-leading Team Speedcar Audi, while it was also a story of joy and despair for Elite Motorsport’s McLaren.
Josh Rattican scored a third-straight pole for the #78 Artura in Q1, but could then only watch on as his team-mate McKenzy Cresswell crawled to a halt at the start of Q2 with a technical issue, meaning the car that starts up front for Race 1 goes off last on Sunday.
Razoon – more than racing’s BMW and CMR’s Ginetta shared the Pro-Am top spots, while the Am class duel between Chazel Technologie Course and W&S Motorsport continued with each team grabbing a pole, meaning a single point still separates the #317 BMW and #30 Porsche heading into the races.
Q1: Rattican hits the front again
Having scored both pole positions last time out at Spa, Elite and Rattican made the most of the first session at Misano, with Rattican setting two laps good enough for top spot.
After a relatively quiet Practice and Pre-Qualifying, Rattican also flew under the radar here, opting to bring his tyres up to temperature in the hot conditions slowly before going for his best times late on. His first was good enough for pole by a few tenths, his second then rammed the result home by moving the yellow McLaren 0.4s up the road.
Lluc Ibañez claimed a spot on the front row for the #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG, ahead of Benjamin Lariche in the #3 Team Speedcar Audi. Hadrien David was fourth for Matmut Évolution Toyota, with Gregory Guilvert’s #8 Team Speedcar Audi and Berkay Besler’s #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW rounding out the top six.
When the Pro-Am runners arrived, track limits became an issue, with many cars losing their fastest times. Gustavo Xavier timed his final run perfectly to slot the #60 Razoon BMW onto pole, in seventh overall, just ahead of Stanislav Safronov in the #7 Mirage Racing Aston Martin. Viny Beltramelli was third for JSB Competition. Both title-challenging cars struggled, with Hendrik Still just seventh, and mystified by the #32 Porsche’s lack of pace. Stefano D’Aste fell foul of track limits and starts the #54 PB Racing Lotus last in class.
A great effort from Max Kronberg grabbed pole for the #30 W&S Porsche, briefly moving the car level on points at the top of the Am class standings. Title rival Jean-Mathieu Leandri starts just behind in the #317 BMW, with Christoffer Brunnhagen third for Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden.
Q2: Despair for Elite, joy for Team Speedcar
Q2 had just got up and running when there was already concern on the Elite pitwall. Cresswell had just taken over the #78 when he radioed back to the team with an issue before grinding to a halt out on track, having not set a lap time.
As the McLaren was lifted back to the paddock, it cleared the way for the session to restart, and for Consani to put on a masterclass.
The Frenchman bolted away from the green light, chasing the sister #8 Audi in the hands of Paul Petit. Using a strong tow, Consani put the #3 a huge 0.6s clear to secure his and Lariche’s second pole of the season.
Petit took second to lock out the front row for Team Speedcar – a mirror of the result from Zandvoort earlier in the year – with Aston Millar upholding McLaren honour in third with the #81 RAFA Racing by RACE LAB Artura.
Benjamin Lessennes recovered from having a lap deleted for track limits to bag fourth for L’Espace Bienvenue BMW ahead of Yagiz Gedik (#11 Borusan Otomotiv BMW) and Alex Papadopulos (#15 NM Racing Mercedes-AMG).
Again the Pro-Am order remained unpredictable until the chequered flag, with Thibaut Mogica stealing ahead on the final lap. The CMR Ginetta narrowly got the better of Mikhail Loboda’s Continental Racing BMW and home hero Alberto Naska in the PB Racing Lotus.
Antoni de Barn restored Chazel Technologie Course’s narrow Am class points lead by claiming a fourth pole of the year for the #317 M4. He beat Philippe Thalamy’s Team Speedcar Audi and title rival Daniel Blickle in the W&S Porsche.
Race 1 is scheduled for 14:00 local time.