Rovera Leads Ferrari 1-2 in Misano Race 1 Qualifying

Alessio Rovera led a Ferrari 1-2 in qualifying for the opening race of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup weekend at Misano.

The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 reeled off a lap of 1:31.309 during the opening phase of a two-stage qualifying session to go quickest overall, outpacing the No. 74 Kessel Racing car of Dennis Marschall by 0.055 seconds.

Qualifying at Misano was split into two, separate ten-minute sessions in order to provide sufficient track space for the 43-car field, with Pro and Gold Cup entries going out first, followed by Silver and Bronze Cup cars.

Rovera’s quickest time came during the first, ten-minute segment, which would go on to make up the majority of the overall top ten for this evening’s race.

Marschall was the only driver from the second segment to break into the overall top ten, securing a spot on the front row and capturing Bronze Cup pole position for the car he shares with Dustin Blattner.

The result marks Ferrari’s second front-row lockout of the Sprint Cup season after Emil Frey Racing did the same for Zandvoort Race 2.

Valentino Rossi qualified third in the No. 46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO, joined on the second row by the Gold Cup-leading No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari in the hands of Chris Lulham.

Lulham’s Emil Frey stablemate Ben Green took fifth, followed by the No. 32 Team WRT BMW of Charles Weerts and Patric Niederhauser’s No. 96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Jens Klingmann slotted into eighth in the No. 777 Al Manar Racing by WRT BMW, with Maxime Martin’s ninth-placed No. 9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo the sole representation for the Stuttgart marque in the overall top ten.

Jordan Pepper picked up tenth in the No. 63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, ahead of Paradine Competition’s Dan Harper and Lionspeed GP driver Ricardo Feller.

Silver Cup pole was captured by the No. 99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, which was 14th overall with Ezequiel Perez Companc at the wheel.

The opening race of the Sprint Cup weekend kicks off at 8:15 p.m. CEST (2:15 p.m. EST) with live coverage on the GT World YouTube channel.

RESULTS: Qualifying (combined)