Misano – the last race of the season on the adriatic coast, the home track of Valentino Rossi, who is one of the most successful riders in the history of the motorcycle world championship with nine world championship titles. That said, Misano was built as a Moto GP circuit and is correspondingly demanding.

The last race of the season in Misano is always something special. On the one hand, it’s the 2-hour endurance night race, and on the other, it’s the last opportunity of the season to mobilize all your reserves for the final sprint. I could no longer have much influence on the championship, and it was clear that I would have to accept P4, as I had lost too many points in the first half of the season. Nevertheless, it might still be enough for another top position.

On the first day of practice, we still had trouble finding the right balance for the car, so I lacked the necessary confidence. However, the setup changes had positive effects, so that by the end of the second day of practice, I was pretty happy with the setup, my laptimes and my performance.

We won the endurance qualifying, which I contested with my instructor Yannick Mettler. My own time would have been P3 at that point, but Yannick went one better and took P1.

In sprint qualifying the following day, my time of 1:41:934 was pretty fast, but unfortunately also a bit unlucky because I ran into a car in the last three corners and lost valuable time, so I finished qualifying in P3. That’s racing..

Nevertheless, the starting position for the first sprint race was promising. But as so often this season, my start could have been better. The tire pressure and temperature were not in the ideal window, and I also braked a bit deep into the first corner and had to let vehicles pass as a result. After exciting fights in the first race, I finished the first race in P5 and had to admit defeat.

I got away better in the second sprint race and was able to make up places in the first two laps and finish the race in P3. I caught up with the front runners, but I would have had to risk too much to make up a place. I was happy with a podium finish in P3.

The endurance race was very exciting. Unfortunately, Yannick drove the start and was spun by a GT3 in T2 after the first 16 laps. Luckily, it was only a bit of bodywork damage and a 10s loss – it could have meant DNF in the worst case. We also had to contend with the track limits and received two warnings. From the 3rd warning onwards, there is a 5s penalty for each infringement.

Nevertheless, after an hour, Yannick fought back to the front and handed over the car in P1. Unfortunately, I was released from the pits 5s too early due to a problem with the onboard time measurement and a misunderstanding, so we got a penalty of 15s – ouch. Fortunately, I wasn’t informed about this and just drove my race. I could hold P1, but my lead was less than 15 due to the penalty! Shortly before the end, I had to come into the pits for the second pit stop, and for strategic reasons, we made another driver change, as Yannick is simply faster than a Pro driver. Our opponents knew this too, of course, and sent the Pro driver to the front again in the last stint. Yannick conjured up one qualifying lap after another in the final laps, putting pressure on our opponents, who also violated track limits again, so they also had 15s penalties. So, victory in the last race of the season and the second victory in a row in the 2h Endurance in the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse 2023.

 

Endurance is, even more than the sprint races, a team effort. A victory is only possible if the entire team, including the driver, performs consistently well. Many thanks at this point to my instructor Yannick Mettler and the AMAG First Rennsport team, which won the 2023 championship in the team classification.

Congratulations to my teammate Patrick Schetty, who deserved to win the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse 2023.

Race Video: PSCS Misano 2023