The Team MZR duo of Reinhard Kofler and Martin Koch claimed their first Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli win of 2024 in race two at Misano, while Alexandre Leroy grabbed a maiden Am victory.
After three successive second place finishes to start their season, Kofler and Koch went one better thanks to a fighting drive in the second 50-minute race on Sunday morning, closing the champioship lead to just one point with victory.
Kofler lunged up the inside of Saturday’s race one winner Carlo Tamburini during the opening stint to grab a lead the #812 KTM X-BOW GT2 would ultimately never lose, as Koch survived the distraction of a loose door to bring the car to the chequered flag first.
Tamburini and Leonardo Gorini battled back from their compensation seconds in the second stint to finish second with the #1 LP Racing Maserati GT2, inheriting the points lead. The recovering Simon Birch and Thomas Andersen charged from 11th to the final spot on the podium, ahead of Loris Hezemans and Eric De Doncker in the Motorsport 98 Mercedes-AMG.
Alexandre Leroy came out on top of an intense battle for fifth place with True Racing’s Sehdi Sarmini in the closing stages, sealing a first Am class win in Fanatec GT2 for himself and TFT Racing.
First wins of 2024 for Kofler, Koch and Leroy in Misano
Race two started in dramatic fashion. Tamburini led Kofler away but a mid-pack collision removed four cars including the #2 car of Prette.
Three Mercedes-AMG crews were also eliminated, including NM Racing and the Akkodis ASP pairings of Mauro Ricci and series returnee Ludovic Badey in the #61, plus the #87 of Beaubelique and Vannelet.
On the restart, the lead battle was closely fought with four cars covered by mere tenths of a second until lap 13. Kofler had a teasing look inside Tamburini, before making a decisive move stick under braking for turn 14.
Tamburini quickly handed over to Gorini while Kofler and Kaffer stayed out. The pace of the top two was enough to allow Team MZR to retain the lead, with Koch behind the wheel. Despite a troublesome door issue, Koch continued unphased to bring the #812 KTM X-BOW to claim its first win of the term.
Gorini climbed the order to finish second after passing De Doncker and the flying Razoon - More Than Racing KTM X-BOW of Simon Birch and Thomas Andersen in quick succession. The latter picked up their best result of the term with third, having started car #80 down in 11th.
Hezemans and De Doncker made it two fourth place finishes in Misano for Motorsport 98, Leroy rounding out the top five and claiming a first Am class win after squeezing past Sarmini's True Racing machine with a cutback move onto the back straight.
The TFT Racing Maserati driver leaves Italy with a five-point Am class lead over the unlucky Prette. Tamburini and Gorini lead Kofler and Koch by one point in Pro-Am.
The Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli field heads to Spa-Francorchamps for two epic races next month, joining the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa itinerary as the Belgian endurance classic marks its centenary edition on 25–30 June.