Misano – Raffaele Marciello gives Valentino Rossi a sensational victory

And the crowd rose to its feet. When Raffaele Marciello (BMW M4 GT3) overtook Vincent Abril (Ferrari 296 GT3) a few minutes from the checkered flag in Race 1 of the GTWorld Challenge Europe Sprint Cup in Misano, the Italian public understood that their idol, Valentino Rossi, was going to win.

The legend of MotoGP had completed a very solid opening stint before handing the wheel over to the BMW factory driver halfway through the race in 3rd place, a handful of seconds behind the leading Ferrari. Raffaele Marciello then stepped up a gear, overtaking the Frenchman as night fell.

This is Valentino Rossi's third Sprint Cup victory, but his first with Raffaele Marciello. The Italian duo competed in this Misano round as freelancers and do not plan to compete at the end of the season.

The Team WRT BMW of Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde finished third after a quick stop that allowed the title-chasing car to overtake its podium rivals. Fourth place went to Classic Mercedes for sale-AMG of Winward Racing, which came back during the second stint with Maro Engel at the wheel. This result allows the Winward Racing team, which started from 15th place on the grid, to gain crucial points for the championship.

Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 14:45 p.m. and will be available to watch live on video.

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GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup 2025

Race 1 Misano Classification