Kofler, Koch and Leroy claim first GT2 wins of 2024 in Misano epic

After three successive second place finishes to start their season, Kofler and Koch went one better thanks to a fighting drive in the second 50-minute race on Sunday morning, closing the champioship lead to just one point with victory.

Kofler lunged up the inside of Saturday’s race one winner Carlo Tamburini during the opening stint to grab a lead the #812 KTM X-BOW GT2 would ultimately never lose, as Koch survived the distraction of a loose door to bring the car to the chequered flag first.

Tamburini and Leonardo Gorini battled back from their compensation seconds in the second stint to finish second with the #1 LP Racing Maserati GT2, inheriting the points lead. The recovering Simon Birch and Thomas Andersen charged from 11th to the final spot on the podium, ahead of Loris Hezemans and Eric De Doncker in the Motorsport 98 Mercdes.

Alexandre Leroy came out on top in an intense battle for fifth place with True Racing’s Sehdi Sarmini in the closing stages, sealing a first Am class win in Fanatec GT2 for himself and TFT Racing.

First wins of 2024 for Kofler, Koch and Leroy in Misano

Race two started in dramatic fashion. Tamburini lead Kofler away in the LP Racing Maserati but in the middle of the pack a collision removed four cars, including Saturday’s Am winner, Philippe Prette.

Three Mercedes-AMG crews were also eliminated, including NM Racing’s Stéphane Perrin and Jörg Viebahn and the Akkodis ASP pairings of Mauro Ricci and Ludovic Badey in car #61, and the #87 of Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Gilles Vannelet.

After a safety car interruption, the lead battle was closely-fought with four cars covered by virtually nothing until lap 13. Kofler had a brief teasing look inside Tamburini, before making a decisive move stick into the braking zone for turn 14.

Tamburini quickly handed over to Gorini while Kofler and the LP Racing Audi R8 LMS GT2 of Pierre Kaffer stayed out up front, and the pace of the top two was enough to allow Team MZR to emerge still in the race lead with Koch now behind the wheel. Despite the distraction of a minor door issue, Koch brought the #812 KTM X-BOW GT2 to the chequered flag to confirm a first win of the term.

Gorini climbed the order to finish second after passing De Doncker at turn four and then overtaking the flying Razoon - More Than Racing KTM X-BOW in quick succession, with Birch and Andersen picking up a best result of the term with third for the rookie squad in car #80.

Hezemans and De Doncker made it two fourth place finishes in Misano for Motorsport 98, Leroy rounding out the top five and claiming the Am class spoils after squeezing past Sarmini’s KTM with a cutback move heading onto the back straight. The TFT Racing Maserati driver also left Italy with a five-point Am class lead over the unlucky Prette.

Dominik Olbert and Denis Liebl took advantage to claim sixth from Sarmini and Klaus Angerhofer in the #90 Razoon - More Than Racing KTM. Rounding out the top 10 were Pascal Gibon and Christophe Bourret for Akkodis ASP (Mercedes-AMG), Hubert Trunkenpolz and Laura Kraihamer in the second True Racing X-BOW and Kaffer and Doppelmayr’s Audi.

The Fanatec GT2 field heads to Spa-Francorchamps for two epic races in just over a month's time, joining the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa itinerary as the Belgian endurance classic marks its centenary edition on 25–30 June.

Results are HERE