MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY – The narrative flipped entirely in the second qualifying session at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Defeating the dominant WRT BMW contingent that ruled Saturday’s action, Jules Gounon put on a masterclass in resilience to pilot the #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing car to the absolute top of the charts for Race 2, clocking a blistering 1:32.017.
The achievement is a monumental statement of intent for the squad, especially after their opening-lap heartbreak in Race 1. What makes it even more remarkable is that Gounon—substituting this weekend for Chris Lulham as the Briton recovers from a medical procedure—actually had his first provisional pole lap deleted for track limits. Undeterred, the Frenchman went right back on the attack, finding even more pace to secure his first Sprint Cup pole position since Magny-Cours 2024.
Six Cars, True Madness: The Top Group Breakdown
The timing screens in Misano practically caught fire this morning, proving that the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup field is operating on a level of absolute lunacy where a single blink could cost you three rows on the grid. Leading the initial charge were Saturday’s race winners, Kelvin van der Linde, who threw their #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO into the corners with pure, unadulterated aggression. They came agonizingly close to stealing the headline, with van der Linde falling short by a microscopic, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 0.057 seconds to settle for P2. Right in their wheel tracks, Kobe Pauwels kept Aston Martin firmly in the mix, delivering a stellar, edge-of-the-seat performance in the #7 Comtoyou Racing Vantage to snatch P3 just 0.068 seconds off the ultimate pace.
Meanwhile, home favorites Valentino Rossi and Max Hesse sent the grandstands into a frenzy by parking their #46 WRT BMW right on the second row in P4 (+0.187), keeping their eyes firmly on a sweet podium redemption on Rossi’s absolute home turf. But the hunting pack wasn’t letting them breathe; Arthur Leclerc extracted some serious magic from the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, storming into P5 just 0.200 seconds adrift to ensure the Prancing Horse is screaming loud in the front-running conversation. Finally, rounding out this ultra-competitive top-six masterclass, veteran ringmaster Maro Engel put on a clinical clinic in the #48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, locking things down a mere 0.247 seconds away from the top spot. Six cars, less than three-tenths of a second—welcome to Sprint Cup racing!
Class Pole Honors
Further down the heavily stacked grid, the class battles proved equally intense. Gold class pole honors went to Arthur Rougier, who put the #111 CSA Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO in a fantastic seventh overall. In the Silver Cup, Aurélien Panis set the pace to secure P14 overall for the GetSpeed Team Bartone Bros Mercedes-AMG. Meanwhile, Charles Dawson parked the #2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG on the Bronze class pole, qualifying 25th overall.
Looming Drama: Pit Lane Investigation for the #32
While the provisional grid places the #32 WRT BMW firmly on the front row next to the pole-sitting Mercedes, a major dark cloud hangs over the Belgian squad’s morning.
Race control is currently investigating the #32 WRT BMW for a suspected unsafe release when leaving the pit lane during the session. If the stewards decide to hand down a grid penalty, it could dramatically reshape the front two rows, potentially promoting Pauwels’ Aston Martin to the front row and moving Rossi and Hesse up into the top three.
With the stewards still deliberating the fate of the front row, tension is running incredibly high in the paddock. Race 2 is scheduled to get underway at 14:30 local time (CEST). Whether the #32 keeps its front-row slot or is forced to fight from deeper in the pack, the run down to Turn 1 is bound to be absolute fireworks.