Technical issue ends Matteo Cairoli’s comeback charge at Misano

Matteo Cairoli endured an unfortunate weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli during the only home round of his 2026 season. The driver from Como competed in the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup alongside Konsta Lappalainen aboard the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO entered by Emil Frey Racing in the Pro class. Following the opening round at Brands Hatch, the pairing arrived in Italy with seven championship points.

Cairoli was scheduled to take part in the first qualifying session on Saturday morning. However, he was unable to set a representative lap time and was therefore forced to start from the back of the grid for Saturday night’s opening race. An early safety car neutralised the race on the opening lap, delaying Cairoli’s comeback drive. Nevertheless, he immediately gained three positions at the restart. The Italian then produced a series of overtaking moves on Bronze and Silver class competitors before handing the car over to Lappalainen during the mandatory pit stop. The Finn continued the recovery, eventually crossing the finish line in 20th place overall, unfortunately outside the points.

On Sunday, Lappalainen secured ninth place on the grid with a lap of 1:32.525. The Finnish driver suffered a difficult start, dropping to 14th while remaining in close contact with the group ahead. Cairoli took over after the driver change window, but a technical issue forced him to retire just a few minutes later, resulting in the crew’s first retirement of the season.

The Emil Frey Racing pairing leaves Italy with a 20th-place finish and a retirement, failing to score any championship points and remaining 13th in the standings with seven points. The next round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup will take place at Magny-Cours over the weekend of 1–2 August 2026. Before then, Matteo Cairoli will return to DTM action at Oschersleben on 26 July for the fifth round of the season.

Matteo Cairoli
“It was a really challenging weekend from the very first practice sessions, as we struggled to find the right feeling with the car. We encountered a few issues in both qualifying and the races, which made things even more difficult here at Misano. I’d like to thank the entire Emil Frey Racing team and Konsta for their support, and I hope we’ll be able to show our full potential at Magny-Cours.”