Audi drivers Christopher Mies and Alex Riberas took the lead of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup points with victory in both 60-minute races at Misano last weekend.
The WRT pair, sharing the #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3, opened their account by winning Saturday’s evening race from Rafaelle Marciello and Michael Meadows in the #88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes. Riberas slipped to second after being passed by Nico Bastian in one of AKKA-ASP’s Silver Cup Merc GT3s, but regained the lead during the pit stops. Mies then defended hard from a charging Marciello to give the #1 WRT Audi its first win of the campaign, while Christian Engelhart and Mirko Bortolotti completed the podium in their Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan.
Mies and Riberas then doubled up in an exciting Sunday afternoon contest after Marciello led early on. The former Ferrari junior built a lead as Mies moved up to second after overtaking Franck Perera’s Grasser Lambo on the opening lap. However, Marciello soon relinquished his position when the #88 Mercedes slowed after picking up front-end damage from vigorous contact with a Misano curb.
Mies then pounced on the ailing Marciello, taking the position before handing over to Riberas who anchored home, while Dries Vanthoor moved into second in the WRT Audi started by Will Stevens as Meadows’ car underwent repairs.
Vanthoor couldn’t eat into Riberas’ healthy 10-second cushion, although the Belgian’s prime concern was keeping behind Simon Gachet in the third-placed Sainteloc-run R8. After taking a podium on Saturday, Bortolotti and Engelhart dropped points with a lowly 18th place finish in race two, after their Lamborghini lost time with a puncture.
The double win result for Audi means Mies and championship rookie Riberas are now leading the overall Blancpain GT Series, which combines results from the Sprint and Endurance Cup competitions
