Valentino Rossi, after securing pole position with BMW, caused a crash at the start

Valentino Rossi made history at Misano on Saturday 19 July 2026: the nine-time motorcycle world champion had secured pole position for the first race of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. This was the first time the motorsport legend had claimed the top spot on the grid in the high-calibre SRO racing series. Furthermore, at 47, Rossi is the oldest driver ever to take pole position in this class! His fast lap in the BMW M4 GT3 took 1:32.154 minutes, putting him in the best possible position for Saturday evening’s race, in which he lined up alongside Max Hesse – Rossi was aiming for his fourth victory on his home circuit. By way of comparison: the MotoGP lap record stands at 1:30.031 minutes, set by Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) in 2024.

Right at the start, a chain-reaction crash occurred on the start-finish straight, with Andrea Frassineti (Audi) and Daniel Juncadella in the Mercedes-AMG from Team Verstappen being hit the hardest and forced to retire. Pole-setter Rossi was also caught up in the chaos: Although he was able to continue the race, he dropped back to fourth place. Then things got even worse: during his mandatory pit stop, Rossi had to serve a 10-second time penalty for making a false start, which had triggered the chaos at the start.

With four minutes remaining, the race was neutralised under yellow flags across the entire circuit. Romain Andriolo had spun off the track in his McLaren near the Curvone after making contact with Marcelo Tomasoni and had to be recovered. The neutralisation lasted until the end of the race.

Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde won the first race in dominant fashion after a flawless drive in their BMW M4 GT3; for Weerts, this is his 19th victory in the Sprint Cup and his ninth at Misano. Rossi/Hesse crossed the finish line in sixth place.

There will be another qualifying session and a second race on Sunday, so the local hero from Tavullia still has another chance.

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