Garage 59 Ends McLaren Sprint Win Drought In Misano Race 2

Marvin Kirchhoefer and Benjamin Goethe ended a nine-year win drought for McLaren in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup, winning a Sunday race at Misano that was red-flagged for over two hours after a fiery crash for Georgi Donchev.

Goethe’s No. 59 Garage 59 McLaren 720s GT3 Evo withstood pressure from the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Lucas Auer, with 0.517 seconds separating the two cars at the finish line.

The No. 59 McLaren started the race from pole position and Kirchhoefer held off an early challenge from the No. 46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Raffaele Marciello until, 15 minutes into the race, a significant accident for Georgi Donchev led to a red flag.

Donchev’s No. 1 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, after contact from behind from the No. 991 Paradine Competition BMW, made heavy contact with the barriers at Turn 10.

The impact caused the Lamborghini to burst into flames, spinning back across the track before coming to a rest on the edge of the gravel trap.

Donchev rapidly exited the burning car unaided and was later checked and cleared from the on-site medical center, while the race remained suspended for more than two hours as trackside workers sought to repair the barrier.

Once the race resumed, Kirchhoefer maintained the advantage before pitting to hand over to Goethe, remaining ahead of the No. 46 BMW now in the hands of Valentino Rossi.

However, Rossi and Team WRT’s hopes of a weekend sweep were dashed when the car received a drivethrough penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

As the No. 46 car dropped down the order by serving its penalty, the No. 48 Mercedes-AMG became Garage 59’s new challenger as Auer tried but ultimately failed to pass Goethe in the car he shared with Maro Engel.

As a result, Kirchhoefer and Goethe ended a Sprint Cup win drought for McLaren that dated back to July 2016, when Alvaro Parente and Rob Bell (now serving as the brand’s sporting director) took victory in a Garage 59-entered 650S GT3.

Goethe, meanwhile, picked up his first overall Sprint Cup win while Kirchhoefer returned to the top step of the series podium for the first time since 2019, when he won at the Nürburgring in an R-Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 alongside Ricky Collard.

The No. 96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Sven Mueller and Patric Niederhauser completed the podium, ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 and No. 32 Team WRT BMW.

Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin finished sixth aboard the No. 9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, followed by Gold Cup winners Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen in the No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari.

The Red Bull-livered Ferrari beat the No. 25 Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II to the class win by 10.123 seconds.

Kobe Pauwels and Jamie Day narrowly converted their Silver Cup pole position to victory in class as the No. 21 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin finished 0.521 seconds ahead of the No. 10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, which rounded out the overall top ten.

Dmitry Gvazava and Loris Spinelli picked up the Bronze Cup victory in 26th overall in their No. 85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini.

RESULTS: Race 2