Maserati Corse, on its home circuit of Misano for round 3 of the 2026 GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, scored one victory and three class podiums. In Race 1, the spotlight fell on Philippe Prette (LP Racing), first in Masters, and on the pairing of Thomas Yu Lee/Niccolò Pirri (LP Racing), third in Pro-Am.
In Race 2, on the category podium were Célia Martin and Luca Pirri (LP Racing), second in Masters, and Roberto Pampanini with Mauro Calamia (Dinamic Motorsport), second in Pro-Am. A Romagna weekend full of stories: on the track, at the wheel of the GT2, father and son (Luca and Niccolò Pirri) were seen together at the same time. France’s Martin also made her debut at the wheel this season, as the first woman to mount the podium with a Maserati GT2.
In the Misano paddock, every fan’s eyes were trained on Maserati Project GT4, the great innovation recently launched by the Trident at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Maserati Corse’s commitment to this championship is further strengthened by its appointment, for the second year running, as official car supplier of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, with the Maserati GT2 Stradale and MCPURA assuming the roles of Safety Car and Leading Car respectively.
In Race 1 on Saturday, Maserati was unable to maintain the excellent pace it started with on the track. Célia Martin and Luca Pirri (LP Racing) crossed the finish line in first place overall, although the car was disqualified after technical checks. After a good start sixth on the grid, Martin overtook very well to finish second. When the red flag fell halfway through the race, due to Potty (i4Race) falling foul of an accident in the number 6 Maserati GT2, Martin relaunched and resisted an attack. Luca Pirri, who jumped into the cockpit, found himself with one second of advantage in the intense final laps. Overtaken by an opponent at the very last gasp, with time running out, his rival made a mistake and opened the way for a Maserati victory, which was then revoked after the podium. Following the verdict, Philippe Prette moved up to first position in the Masters category (and fourth overall). Potty, who started from pole, managed to regain the lead after the start. The Belgian was going well for a few laps before he lost control of the car, ending his race running into the barriers; fortunately, the impact had no serious consequences for him. A brilliant performance for Thomas Yu Lee and Niccolò Pirri, third in Pro-Am and fifth overall.
In the second race on Sunday, the leading light in the first half of the race was Calamia, who managed to rise as many as thirteen positions, all the way up to second overall. In the GT2 race, the Dinamic Motorsport team continued with Pampanini, taking seventh place overall and second in the Pro-Am class. Another good performance for Martin and Luca Pirri, sixth overall and second in Masters. After an impeccable race, Pette was third in Masters when he lost his podium placing due to a contact for which he was faultless. Potty did not start due to the accident in Race 1.
Vincent Biard, Head of Maserati Corse, stated: “Misano was an intense, complex weekend, as often happens in motorsport, but it gave us major confirmation – both on the track and in discussions with the teams, drivers and our fans – of the entire team’s hard work and its value. We’re proud that this weekend was the ideal opportunity for the debut of Maserati Project GT4 in its natural environment: our home paddock, in Italy’s Motor Valley, in direct contact with the motorsport public. For Maserati Corse, GT2 continues to be a strategic platform that we strongly believe in and which has the ability to express performance and technology transfer from the track to the road. All this is now accompanied by Project GT4, which aims to enrich our presence in GT racing from 2028; it marks a major step in the growth of the racing programme and expands the opportunities for our customers in GT racing”.
To follow Misano, the calendar will continue with two more events on the circuits at Zandvoort (19-20 September) and Portimão (17-18 October).
