+ CMR Ginetta triumphs overall and extends Silver championship advantage
+ Thilenius and Hartling bag commanding Pro-Am win for SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm
+ RTR on top in Masters as Mraz and Kajaia triumph in KTM
+ Result: Race 2, Misano
Ethan Gialdini and Mikkel Njor bounced back from a troubled Saturday to score their second overall victory of the season in the weekend's final GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli race at Misano, the #3 CMR Ginetta scorching through the order late on to score big.
The 50-minute contest began with a revised grid as the pole-sitting i4Race Maserati of Antoine Potty was unable to run following his high-speed accident in Race 1. This meant that the twin SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMGs shared the front row and, with their pro drivers at the controls, they dominated the early phase of the race.
Jay Mo Härtling led away from pole in the #111 AMG but came under immediate pressure from the sister #110 machine of Moritz Wiskirchen. The lead changed hands on the second lap and Wiskirchen appeared to be in control, only for the Schnitzelalm duo to swap back on lap 5.
The German squad's hopes of a one-two finish were scuppered shortly afterwards when the #110 suddenly slowed and stopped on the back straight. It restarted but stopped again at the same spot next time around. Wiskirchen then called into the pits, after which the issue was resolved, but the repairs cost him three laps.
Härtling now had a commanding advantage, pulling more than 13 seconds clear by the time he made his pit stop. Thilenius assumed the controls of the #111 Mercedes-AMG and emerged with a big gap to his closest Pro-Am challenger. Class honours appeared to be secure.
But the overall result was another matter. The man on the move during the second stint was Mikkel Njor, who had taken over the #3 CMR Ginetta from Ethan Gialdini. After suspension damage ruled them out of the running on Saturday, Gialdini guided the Ginetta from fifth on the grid to run third before handing across to Njor.
The Dane quickly closed on Thilenius, whose focus was on securing the Pro-Am win. The Ginetta driver made a simple move to claim the overall victory, while he and Gialdini also took a third Silver win from six races. With their closest rival Potty unable to compete, they now hold a commanding championship lead.
Stefan Rosina and Lorenzo Marcucci claimed second – both overall and in Silver – with their LP Racing Audi. Rosina also passed Thilenius late on, but the #111 Mercedes-AMG still comfortably won the Pro-Am class, extending its own points advantage.
Viktor Mraz and Davit Kajaia secured the Masters class win aboard their RTR Projects KTM, running clear of Luca Pirri and Celia Martin’s LP Racing Maserati. Philippe Prette looked set to complete the podium until a late clash put the #1 Maserati out with suspension damage.
The GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli returns to action at Zandvoort in September.