Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli field races into the night at Misano

Four of the world’s top manufacturers are set to contest the second event of the season, which features the unique spectacle of a night race on Saturday evening.

Four different crews took wins across the Pro-Am and Am classes during the season-opener at Circuit Paul Ricard last month. Among them, Maserati, KTM and Mercedes-AMG all earned victories.

A dramatic late win for RTR Projects places the #89 KTM-X-BOW GT2 crew of Jan Krabec and Matej Homola top of the Pro-Am standings by a narrow four-point margin, while a mere five points separate the top three.

In the Am class it’s even tighter at the top, with Akkodis ASP’s Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Gilles Vannelet and LP Racing’s Phillipe Prette covered by just three points after sharing the spoils in France.

Located in Santa Monica-Cella, the 4.064-kilometre Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli features 16 turns and a mixture of fast and technical corners. The long straights and wide nature of the track makes it a hotbed for overtaking and exciting racing.

Brilliant Pro-Am battles in France show fierce title fight to come

It was an historic first round of the season in France on two fronts. LP Racing claimed the Maserati GT2’s maiden series victory in the first 50-minute encounter, while race two set a record for the closest finish in Fanatec GT2 history.

That second race was won by last year’s Am champion Krabec and part-time team-mate Homola, narrowly fending off fellow KTM X-BOW squad Team MZR by 0.070s to gift RTR Projects a four-point lead in the standings. Krabec will share with Erik Janis at Misano.

A pair of second place finishes for Team MZR mean the #812 crew of Reinhard Kofler and Martin Koch sit right on their tail, while LP Racing’s #1 Maserati is just a further point behind after an emphatic win from pole position for Leonardo Gorini and Carlo Tamburini.

Eight entries will grace Pro-Am in Misano. LP Racing will also run an Audi R8 LMS GT2 for the returning Michael Doppelmayr and Pierre Kaffer, who visited the Pro-Am podium twice as a partnership last term.

True Racing's Pro-Am challenge will be from Hubert Trunkenpolz and Laura Kraihamer in the #17 KTM, while Ludovic Badey joins Mauro Ricci in the #61 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG.

Several new teams will be keen to challenge for their first victory after promising debuts. Razoon - More Than Racing’s Thomas Andersen and Simon Birch showed strong pace at Circuit Paul Ricard and the #80 KTM X-BOW lies fourth in the class standings.

Motorsport 98 also aim high after claiming a best finish of fifth in Pro-Am from round one. Eric De Doncker and Loris Hezemans are again aboard its #98 Mercedes-AMG.

Tight at the top of the Am class coming to Misano

A closely-fought Am class is headed by the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG duo of Beaubelique and Vannelet, who took a win and a second place during the season opening weekend.

LP Racing’s Phillipe Prette sits just three points further back after winning race two. Behind his Maserati is another in the hands of TFT Racing’s Alexandre Leroy, who scored an impressive class podium on debut.

Mercedes-AMG cars sit fourth and fifth in the standings, Christophe Bourret and Pascal Gibon in the #53 Akkodis ASP machine lying ahead of the #888 NM Racing car of Stéphane Perrin and Jörg Viebahn.

For KTM, True Racing’s #16 crew of Klaus Angerhofer and Sedhi Sarmini will be eyeing silverware, as will the #90 Razoon - More Than Racing team of Dominik Olbert and Denis Liebl.

Six in the running for Iron Cup

The Iron Cup will be competitive this weekend with six crews eligible. Those include the three Akkodis ASP entries, the #888 NM Racing Mercedes-AMG of Perrin/Viebahn, the #18 Audi of Doppelmayr/Kaffer and True Racing's #16 KTM (Sarmini/Angerhofer).