The Sports Prototype Winter Series had been scheduled to compete in two standalone 40-minute races, as had been the case at Portimão a week prior. However, severe winds and a local government forced the cancellation of Saturday’s schedule. With time limited, the Sports Prototype Winter Series grid would instead gain an additional outing, running two 20-minute sprints and a 50-minute pitstop race alongside the GT4 Winter Series. The SPWS competitors – comprised of three Radical SR3 XXRs, one from Sünder Motorworks and two from Team RaceStreaming – started separately from the GT4 grid, roughly half a lap behind.
In all three races, Morten Strømsted and Steven Berndtson’s #24 Sünder Motorworks entry claimed victory. However, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, it appeared that Team RaceStreaming’s Diego D’Ambra was much closer to the pace of the #24, which had been driven by Strømsted and Sebastian Schou at Portimão.
Indeed, in both of the sprint races, D’Ambra was within a half-dozen seconds of the winning entry, aboard his #22 car. In the early stages of the 50-minute pitstop race, D’Ambra was able to lead, but ultimately lost out and faded as the battle between he and Strømsted began encountering GT4 traffic.
Jess Frandsen finished all three races in third place, driving the #23 RaceStreaming entry.
For the #24 Sünder entry and Morten Strømsted, a 100 per cent win rate speaks to the supreme performance of the Dane and his co-drivers. With a compact schedule of track time over the course of nine days at Portimão and Valencia, the SPWS events have proven to be a great tool for Strømsted and his competitors, ahead of the summer months.
The Sports Prototype Winter Series is designed to cater to all prototypes beyond the modern LMP family of cars. Teams with Radicals, Novas, Wolfs, Revolutions, CN and SR-class cars – among others – are encouraged to contact GEDLICH Racing to be the first to discover future plans for the SPWS category.
This necessitated a condensed schedule for Sunday, with three 20-minute +1 lap races replacing the planned 30-minute encounters. This presented a test of adaptability for all 31 drivers on the grid, newcomers and regulars alike. Remarkably, on the Sunday alone, 13,000 fans were in attendance, as the Winter Series collaborated with ROOW to bring more entertainment and thrilling vehicles to the paddock.
Championship leader Dries Van Langendonck (Rodin) lined up for the first race of the weekend on pole position, and was joined by Van Amersfoort’s Aleksander Ruta on the front row. Third on the grid was Canadian newcomer Jensen Burnett, who stepped into Mathilda Racing for his first F4 race. Ludovico Busso (US Racing) qualified fourth, following his breakthrough podium at Portimão.
As the race sprang into life, Burnett failed to launch. Thankfully, the field avoided the stricken Mathilda Racing car, which eventually continued in the race from the back of the pack. At the front, Van Langendonck held an uncontested lead, and Rocco Coronel took advantage of a flying start to move into second.
The green flag running didn’t last long, as Zoe Florescu ended up stranded at the turn four gravel trap with a broken front wing. After a brief safety car, the race continued, and while Van Langendonck and Coronel held formation, Aleksander Ruta didn’t anticipate the start as well as VAR teammate Thomas Bearman. The British driver applied pressure to his Polish colleague, but Ruta held on around the outside at turns two and three to retain his podium place.
The side-by-side exchange sent Bearman back into the clutches of Ludovico Busso, who tried to dive to the inside at turn 11. Unfortunately, the pair collided, and both would lose places. However, as Bearman ended up tracking through the gravel, he would fall well into the teen positions. Bearman joined other prospective front-runners including the recovering Jensen Burnett and Oleksandr Savinkov in the second-half of the pack. After a troubled qualifying, Savinkov, who came into the weekend third in the standings, started his US Racing car from the penultimate row of the grid.
There were no such troubles at the front of the field for Dries Van Langendonck, who had built himself a buffer of almost three seconds over Rocco Coronel. In the final laps, the gap would shrink down to half-a-second, but Van Langendonck was still able to take his fourth victory of the season in the Formula Winter Series. Coronel and Ruta completed the podium, with the former two also making up the top two Rookie class runners.
Pedro Lima had a strong run to fourth in his VAR entry, ahead of US Racing’s Ary Bansal and Alfie Slater, who took sixth overall and the last step on the Rookie class podium. After spending much of the race fighting in a particularly hectic midfield, Chiara Bättig (Campos) won the Female Trophy from 16th overall.
Race Two:
For the second race of the weekend, Dries Van Langendonck once again started from pole position. However, the Rodin driver did not achieve a perfect launch, while both Aleksander Ruta and Pedro Lima of VAR were fast out of the blocks. The pair of black-and-orange cars went either side of Van Langendonck, with Ruta assuming the race lead. Rocco Coronel briefly held fourth, before Thomas Bearman locked up into turn two, spinning his VAR teammate and ending the Dutchman’s race.
Further back, the action was frenetic in the midfield once again, and it was something of an inevitability that a collision would happen. Sure enough, Vittorio Orsini found himself stuck in the Turn 11 gravel with a damaged front wing, which triggered a Safety Car.
Alfie Slater (Rodin) elected to pit from 16th during the Safety Car, for a fresh set of Pirellis. This was one of several attempts to generate a strong lap time in race two; both Oleksandr Savinkov and Arjen Kräling started from the pits. The pair of US Racing drivers were due to line-up at the back of the field, and instead decided to join the race late, in clean air. This decision would prove beneficial later on.
At the front of the field, Aleksander Ruta managed the race restart well. Meanwhile, Dries Van Langendonck made a dive to the inside of Pedro Lima for second place, but locked up. The pair made light contact, and strayed wide, allowing Thomas Bearman to move up to second place. Van Langendonck was still third, now behind Bearman, and Pedro Lima would soon pass him on-track too. The Belgian racer looked to be struggling with car balance, repeatedly locking both tyres on the front axle.
There were no such dramas at the front for Aleksander Ruta, who eased his way to an inaugural Formula 4-level victory. It was a Van Amersfoort 1-2; despite a five-second penalty for Bearman after his first lap collision with Rocco Coronel, the Brit was over five seconds clear of Van Langendonck, and thus held second. On the road, it was a podium sweep for the Dutch team, but Pedro Lima would be demoted to eighth owing to a five-second track limits penalty.
Van Langendonck won the Rookie class from third overall, while Zoe Florescu once again claimed Female Trophy honours.
Race Three:
US Racing’s decision to treat race two as qualifying for Arjen Kräling and Oleksandr Savinkov was an inspired choice. Kräling – who to this point in the season had only one points finish to his name – now found himself on pole position. He was joined on the front row by Thomas Bearman, while Aleksander Ruta and Oleksandr Savinkov made up the second row of the grid.
Dries Van Langendonck would only start 12th, after struggling for speed in race two.
Arjen Kräling got a better start than Bearman as the race began, while Ruta had an ideal launch from third. The Polish driver was to Kräling’s outside at the first corner, but the German held on to the lead, standing his ground against Ruta. Further back, on the first lap, Georgiy Zasov and Andre Rodriguez collided. Zasov limped a damaged car home, while Rodriguez was stranded in the gravel, triggering a Safety Car.
Kräling gained himself a car length upon launching back to racing speeds, holding the lead as the race resumed. This, however, would not be the only restart of the race, as Jenzer’s Levi Arn rotated himself into the gravel at turn 12, after initially clipping another gravel trap on corner entry. Chiara Bättig missed her apex at the cornet while avoiding the spinning Arn, and would then find herself in a collision at turn 14, as AKM’s Vittorio Orsini made a miscalculated lunge at the last corner.
As the race restarted for the final time, Kräling once again held the lead, and would do so until the chequered flag one lap later. The German’s victory meant a second consecutive new winner of the day; he was followed home by Aleksander Ruta, who achieved the same feat earlier in the day. Thomas Bearman finished third, just ahead of Oleksandr Savinkov.
In the Rookie standings, CRAM Motorsport’s Samuel Ifrid finished eight overall to win the category. The Swiss pipped Dries Van Langendonck to the line to secure the result. Zoe Florescu profited from Chiara Bättig’s dramas to once again win the Female Trophy standings, finishing 21st overall.
Heading to the next round at Motorland Aragon, Dries Van Langendonck once again arrives with an extended points advantage, now holding 155. Ary Bansal still sits second in the standings on 94 points, meaning a 61-point advantage for Van Langendonck, and a real chance of sewing up the title a round early.
Third in the points now belongs to Aleksander Ruta, on 92 points, while Thomas Beaman and Oleksandr Savinkov round out the top-five. Van Langendonck also leads the rookie standings over Rocco Coronel, and looks likely to sew up the trophy in Aragon. US Racing holds an 11-point advantage in the Teams’ Championship on 226, ahead of Rodin and VAR, both tied on 215 points.
The battles will continue next time out, as the Formula Winter Series returns to a venue that historically produces thrilling moments in the category. The Motorland Aragon event takes place from 5-8 March.
22 – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
5 – 8 FEB PORTIMAO /P
12 – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
After an unusually wet January in Portugal, sun and dry conditions greeted the drivers at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. However, the weather predictions for the area suggested extreme winds on Saturday, leaving the local government no choice but to curtail outdoor events.
As a result of the Saturday cancellation, a condensed schedule was organised for Sunday. The planned 30-minute sprint races were cut to 20 minutes, while the pitstop race became a 50-minute encounter. Additionally, the cars of the Sports Prototype Winter Series would share the track, starting behind the GT4 field in a separate classification. The combined grid raced in front of some 13,000 fans, a new one-day record for Winter Series event attendance.
The first 20-minute race saw SR Motorsport’s Enrico Förderer start from pole position alongside Frederik Zebis in the W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman. Fellow W&S driver Joachim Bölting started well from sixth place, and found himself in third by the first corner, while the top two remained in grid order.
AM driver Bölting seemed to decide his battle was not with the PRO and PRO-AM runners directly behind him, allowing four cars by at the end of the first lap. This decision moved Mario Pinazo into third, at the wheel of the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4. However, the local driver – a recent karting graduate – later ran wide at the first corner, handing the position to PRO-AM leader Bruno Pereira, aboard the Araújo Competição Aston Martin.
Pinazo was not willing to take this lying down, and was looking for ways to pass Pereira. He cost himself time at the second corner looking to the outside of the #007 entry, which brought him closer to fifth-placed Tom Papenburg (CV Performance Mercedes). The 15-year-old Dutchman tried to make a move on Pinazo from quite a distance behind at turn four, tagging the fellow Mercedes driver into a spin. This would lead to a non-finish for Pinazo, and a Safety Car to recover the damaged vehicle from the gravel trap.
After the Safety Car, the battle for third would also encompass the PRO-AM lead, as Ravi Ramyead (L’Espace Bienvenue BMW) was challenging Pereira. After some close racing, the fight unfortunately ended with a bang, as Ramyead experienced rear-wheel hop on the approach to turn 11. He missed his braking zone, hit the #007 Aston Martin, and spun Pereira out of the podium places.
At the front of the field, a controlled drive from Enrico Förderer led to a comfortable victory, finishing ahead of Zebis, who was runner-up in the PRO class. While typically a PRO-AM entry, Tim Horrell’s absence placed the car into the top category for this weekend. Ravi Ramyead secured the PRO-AM win from third place overall, ahead of Papenburg and AM winner Joachim Bölting. Bölting finished behind GT Corse’s Manuel Bertolin initially, but the Spanish driver was demoted owing to 5 seconds worth of track limit penalties.
Speedworxx’s Franz Linden won the Cayman Trophy class, finishing eighth overall ahead of Club class winner Thilo Goos (BWT Mücke Motorsport Aston Martin).
Race Two:
The second sprint race once again saw the #11 SR Motorsport entry take an early lead, this time at the hands of Joel Mesch. Meanwhile, the W&S Porsche was in an early second place, this time driven by Nicolas Guillaume. The young Belgian, in his first GT4 Winter Series outing, found himself having to defend hard against the chasing pack throughout the early laps. This left Mesch running alone at the front, while a scrum of cars followed Guillaume in second.
The PRO-AM battle between L’Espace Bienvenue (BMW) and Araújo Competição (Aston Martin) once again got physical, this time with Charlie Robertson and Frederico Peters at the respective controls. Coming out of the first corner on the second lap, the cars made side-on-side contact, cutting down the front-right tyre on the Peters’ Aston Martin, eventually leaving the Araújo entry a lap down.
Shortly thereafter, punchy driving from Raúl Zunzarren (NM Racing Team Mercedes) moved him past Robertson for third overall, though the pair would trade positions multiple times while both looking to pass Nicolas Guillaume for second. Eventually, Zunzarren saw an opportunity to take the inside line at turn two, and moved past the W&S Porsche. Tom Papenburg again exhibited bravery and a dash of optimism: The youngster from CVxJP elected to try passing both Robertson and Guillaume at the same corner, clipping the Porsche and spinning himself out.
With Guillaume now behind Zunzarren, Robertson was the next to challenge the GT racing debutant, and found his way by at turn two. A couple of laps later, Joachim Bölting and Cedric Fuchs were both looking to find a way past Guillaume in the W&S Cayman. Bölting took the outside line at turn 8, and slid on corner exit, collecting the #700 BWT Mücke Aston Martin of Mattis Pluschkell, who was sent into the barrier.
Both drivers were unharmed, but a Safety Car was required to recover the stricken machines, and the race would end before the green flags could fly again. However, just before the Safety car, Fuchs found his way past Guillaume, completing a spectacular run in the #111 SR Motorsport Mercedes, from 15th on the grid to third overall, and the PRO-AM victory. Charlie Robertson finished ahead of Fuchs on the road, but ultimately received a five-second penalty for track limit infringements.
The #11 SR Mercedes of Joel Mesch claimed the overall win, ahead of Raúl Zunzarren of NM Racing Team. Manuel Bertolin won the AM class with an eighth-overall finish, ahead of repeat Cayman Trophy winner Franz Linden. The Club class victory was secured by Zome Racing’s Tiago Loureiro (McLaren 570S GT4).
Race Three:
It was an all-SR Motorsport front row for the third and final race, with Joel Mesch on pole in the #11 PRO class entry, and the #111 of Willi Kühne alongside. Kühne, the AM of the PRO-AM line-up, would quickly drop back as the race began, leaving second position to Raúl Zunzarren’s NM Racing Mercedes in the early stages. Zunzarren would spend much of the first stint underneath the rear-wing of Mesch, but did not find a way past.
Just before the pit window at minute 20 of the 50-minute race, the #95 Zome Racing McLaren briefly came to a halt at turn 10. After a reset, the car continued. However, much of the field anticipated a Safety Car, and peeled into the pits; at the front, the only exception to this pattern was Joel Mesch, who continued on, and built a net advantage over the chasing pack as a result.
Enrico Förderer eventually inherited the leading car at the halfway mark, and would perform a perfect final stint to commandingly win the race. PRO-AM winners Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead eventually took second place overall for L’Espace Bienvenue, as Robertson dispatched NM Racing Team’s Mario Pinazo after the pit cycle. Pinazo drove the Mercedes home to third overall for he and Zunzarren.
The AM victory fell to Team VRT’s Aleksandrs Bobrovs, while Speedworxx’s Linden and Arne Hoffmeister wrapped up a sweep of Cayman Trophy. Zome Racing once again prevailed in the Club class, with the #96 McLaren of Breno Arruda and Tiago Loureiro.
For a second consecutive event, the #111 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes of Joel Mesch and Enrico Förderer took all three race victories. With a significant advantage in both the overall and PRO standings, the possibility of winning at least one championship at Aragon looms large.
The young Germans will be determined to continue this form at the spectacular Motorland Aragon facility, which plays host to the fourth round of the season from 5-8 March.
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
Over 30 cars arrived to compete, with superb turnouts in a number of the classes. The skies were noticeably clearer and brighter than they had been during an anomalous trip to Portugal, but unfortunately, extreme winds and a local government order forced the cancellation of Saturday’s racing. This meant one qualifying session and three races on Sunday, with the two sprint encounters cut to 20 minutes, and a 50-minute pitstop race.
The first race saw an all-V10 front row of the grid, as Ariel Levi lined-up on pole position in the #86 Attempto Racing Audi, joined by Sendom Racing Team’s Seweryn Mazur (Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo1). As the race began, Mazur wasn’t as fast to pick-up the throttle, and dropped behind P3 starter Kiano Blum in his #64 Haupt Ford Mustang GT3.
The top two soon drove away, while Mazur put up a fantastic fight against Alain Valente in the second Haupt Ford, as well as Ethan Brown in the #19 Engstler Lamborghini. Valente did eventually find his way through, but Mazur’s dogged fighting continued against Brown. Even when it looked like the Singaporean had finally taken fourth, Mazur launched back to the inside at turn two and continued the battle.
A Safety Car was triggered a little over halfway into the race, as the #128 MS Racing McLaren of Fabian Seipt ended up in the gravel after losing traction out of turn 6. The spin took place just ahead of Cup X entrant Jann Jöge in the #147 Equipe Vitesse Porsche. The German, a member of the GEDLICH Racing team in sales and organisation roles, was able to avoid being collected in the spin; a vital act in a raceday where he needed results to secure signatures for an upgraded racing licence.
Upon the race resumption, Kiano Blum once again looked threatening behind Levi, but the Attempto Audi driver held on to secure his first win in GT3 machinery. Blum and Valente rounded out the podium for Haupt Racing Team, while Seweryn Mazur completed his supreme defensive drive, beating Ethan Brown to fourth.
Joseph Dean won the Cup 1 class for Ferrari 296 Challenge machines, just ahead of Cup 4 winner Alessio Ruffini in the #333 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo. Cup 2 honours went the way of PTSportsbyUp2race driver Oleksii Kikireshko, who battled Igor Klaja in the similar PTT Racing Porsche 992 Cup.
Race Two:
The second race of the day looked likely to feature yet another Audi versus Ford battle, as Massimiliano Cuccarese started from pole aboard the #74 Haupt Mustang driven by Alain Valente earlier in the day. Cuccarese would line-up alongside Attempto Racing’s Carrie Schreiner as the race began, and used the Ford’s power to take an early lead. This would not last long though, as Schreiner made a mistake under braking at turn two, collecting Cuccarese in the process.
Marcus Clutton (#67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren) assumed the lead, and a Safety Car neutralised the field shortly thereafter; Cuccarese’s Mustang was still stranded at turn two, while several Cup class cars also collided and left debris across the track.
Once the race resumed, Clutton found himself under significant pressure from Niklas Kalus in the #64 HRT Ford. The imposing Mustang nested in the mirrors of the McLaren, and was joined by the SR Motorsport Mercedes entries of Mortiz Wiskirchen (#111) and Jay Mo Härtling (#11). While the quartet remained close throughout the race, Clutton was able to keep all at bay to claim the first win of the season for the McLaren team. Kalus and Wiskirchen completed the podium, with the top three split by just 1.1 seconds.
With Härtling finishing fourth, the victory for Orange Racing by JMH surged Clutton and Simon Orange into the GT3 championship lead for the first time. Gilbert Yates drove to an exemplary sixth overall in the Cup 1-winning #101 AF Corse Ferrari, while Alessio Ruffini secured yet another Cup 4 win for Auto Sport Racing from 11th overall.
The sole Cup 3 entry – the #128 MS Racing McLaren Artura Trophy Evo – had its best showing of the day, finishing 12th overall in the hands of Kajus Siksnelis. Igor Klaja won Cup 2, this time bettering Oleksii Kikireshko in the class reserved for Porsche 992 Cup cars. The older Porsche 991.1 Cup of Jann Jöge once again reached the flag, securing the signatures required for his prospective progression into the Nürburgring-based NLS events.
Race Three:
The #111 Mercedes of Michael Sander lined-up on pole for the 50-minute pitstop race. However, the relative newcomer to GT3 racing elected not to put up a fight into the first corner, allowing Niklas Kalus to sweep the #64 Haupt Ford into an early lead. Marcus Clutton moved the Orange Racing McLaren into second place shortly thereafter, and began his pursuit of the Mustang.
The Brit was not able to find an opportunity to overtake in the first phase of the race, which was promptly halted by an off-track excursion at turn 12 for GABS Competizioni’s Leon Rijnbeek. The #89 Ferrari 296 Challenge ended up in the wall, and required a Safety Car for safe removal. The race resumed, but only briefly, as a collision at turn eight left the #81 Norik Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Norikazu Shibata stranded in the gravel. The #204 Cup 1 Ferrari of Joseph Dean was the culprit, and his car continued on with major damage that required impromptu repairs in the pits.
Once the green flag waved again, the slightly-delayed pit window began, and shuffled the race order. Simon Orange fell behind Jay Mo Härtling over the course of the window, and would soon lose out to Mateusz Lisowski in the #27 Mercedes GT3 too.
A late safety car was triggered with less than seven minutes remaining, as the previously-damaged #204 Ferrari – now driven by Aston Millar – suffered a suspension failure at turn 10. The race resumed with just one lap to go, and Mortiz Wiskirchen (#111 SR Mercedes) made a critical move for fourth position on Simon Orange at turn two; this would definitively hand the points lead back to the sister #11 SR entry of Heyer and Härtling.
At the front of the field, Kiano Blum (#64 HRT Ford) just held off SR Motorsport’s Jay Mo Härtling to win the race, while Mateusz Lisowski confirmed the first podium of the year for the #27 PTT Racing Mercedes. Fourth-placed Wiskirchen was followed home by Massimiliano Cuccarese, who overtook Simon Orange for fifth in the last moments of the race.
Nina Østergaard and Frederik Schandorff secured ninth overall and the Cup 4 win in the DC Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo. Just behind them, father-and-son duo Gilbert and Bradley Yates won the Cup 1 class, while Igor Klaja won the Cup 2 category from 16th overall in the #7 PTT Porsche, along with co-driver Fabian Dybionka.
A strong weekend for both the #7 PTT and #88 PTSportsbyUp2race Cup 2 Porsches has dramatically shifted the overall championship battle. The #88 car’s sole constant driver, Oleksii Kikireshko, is now the overall points leader on 138. Six points further back, Heyer and Härtling now sit second, while Klaja is tied on 126 points in third, alongside Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton for Orange Racing by JMH.
The final two weekends of the season promise a thrilling fight in the overall GT Winter Series standings; the action resumes at Motorland Aragon from 5-8 March.
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
After winning all three races during the Estoril weekend, SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm’s Enrico Förderer and Joel Mesch arrive to Spain with a 36-point lead in the overall standings. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 drivers hold 110 points, compared to the 74 of leading PRO-AM outfit Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead (L’Espace Bienvenue BMW).
Frederik Zebis sits third in the overall points standings, and this time moves up to the PRO class, as regular co-driver Tim Horrell is absent. In Horrell’s place in the W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS is Belgian karting graduate Nicolas Guillaume.
Other young talents making their GT4 Winter Series debuts include Matyáš Faiereisl. The 19-year-old joins Šenkýř Motorsport, in a BMW M4 GT4 Evo, having previously joined the team to make successful appearances in Central European GT racing. NM Racing Team brings Spanish GT-CET champion Mario Pinazo, who graduated from karts with the Spanish squad last year.
After debuting last time out at Estoril, Tom Papenburg will be looking to turn the lessons learnt into victories for the Mercedes-AMG GT4 of CV Performance X JP Motorsport.
Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead will once again receive competition from SR Motorsport’s Willi Kühne and Cedric Fuchs, both of whom are fresh off winning their respective classes at last weekend’s GEDLICH Racing 6H of Portimão. Araújo Competição’s Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo will once again be piloted by Bruno Pereira and Goncalo Araújo, adding to a lively class battle.
AM class leader Joachim Bölting (W&S Motorsport Porsche) will have competition from Manuel Bertolin (GT Corse BMW) and Alexandrs Bobrovs. The latter driver will once again hope to claim class wins in the Team VRT Mercedes, following on from his previous success at the Portimão season-opener.
In the Club class, Zome Racing once again arrives with an adjusted line-up in its pair of McLaren 570S GT4s. Breno Arruda will share with Tiago Loureiro in the #95, while the sister #96 car will be piloted by Antonio Duarte and Fernando Costa. Meanwhile, class points leaders Thilo Goos and Mattis Pluschkell once again bring their sonorous BWT Mücke Motorsport Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 to the grid.
The GT4 Winter Series forms just a part of what promises to be a fabulous weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Fans will not only be treated to action from four of the Winter Series categories, but also the car culture extravaganza ROOW, bringing awesome display cars, live music and unrivalled atmosphere to the paddock.
Tickets for the event are still available, while fans around the world will once again be able to follow the action live on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
18 cars arrived to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, after some two-car efforts were condensed to a single entry, and other teams were forced to withdraw. With eight cars in the GT3 class, the overall battle was a point of debate and intrigue going into the weekend. Strong four-car line-ups in the GT4 and Cup 2 class would add further intrigue, along with singular Cup 3 and GT2 entries from Greystone GT and SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm respectively.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, wet conditions dominated the practice and qualifying sessions. By the time qualifying rolled around, the circuit was drying, but teams still had to deploy wet tyres throughout the three sessions.
The average times across Qualifying 1, 2 and 3 determined the grid for the race, and Greystone GT’s Meakin, Kelly and Prette achieved pole position with the only average under two minutes; a 1:59.812. The combined efforts of Marcelo Ramírez and Christian Mansell secured second for the #28 Motopark Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, while Iron Lynx’s Ameerh Naran, Sergio Sette Camara and Shawn Rashid lined-up third in the similar Mercedes. Comtoyou Racing rounded out the second row of the grid with the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, piloted by A.J. Muss, Baudouin Detout and Oliver Söderström.
As the six-hour race fired into life, conditions were improving around the circuit after overnight showers. Some teams felt the circuit would soon be ready for slick tyres; SR Motorsport’s GT2 and GT4 Mercedes entries both started on slicks, along with the #60 Razoon – more than racing Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS. However, all three cars struggled in the early minutes.
Jayden Kelly held the early lead as the race went green, and immediately set about building a cushion at the front of the field. As the second lap began, Ariel Levi – making his debut in GT3 racing with Attempto Racing in the #86 Audi R8 LMS Evo II – moved up to second at the expense of Team Motopark’s Marcelo Ramírez. Levi was able to closely match the pace of Jayden Kelly, but was not able to answer the ultimate place of the Australian.
One of the closest battles in the first hour of the race came from the Cup 2 class, as the LMR Motorsport entries of Leandro Martins (#911) and Daniel Neumann (#27) disputed for the lead among the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup cars. Martins, the founder of the team, would ultimately get the better of his Brazilian counterpart. While the other drivers that started on wets struggled, Jay Mo Härtling (SR Motorsport Mercedes) was able to stay within range of his GT4 adversaries. As the track dried, the German would establish the #111 entry as the leaders in the class.
With 35 minutes of mandatory pitstop time to serve across the first five hours and 30 minutes of the race, a split of strategies was inevitable. As the first stops came in, a Safety Car created yet more of a divide among the front-runners. Greystone GT, who had just served a first – relatively short – pitstop, stayed on the lead-lap upon exit. Meanwhile others were trapped behind the Safety Car; this effectively gave the British team a free lap over the likes of Team Motopark.
The Safety Car was triggered to collect the front splitter of the #27 LMR Porsche, which had been shed on the main straight.
During the first pit cycle, a number of teams had served a longer stop to burn away some of the mandatory time, while others elected for shorter stops and a longer pause towards the end of the race. This meant that a number of the battles for much of the race were ‘invisible’; while cars were several laps apart on the timing screen, the requirement to spend 35 minutes in the pits meant they would meet late in the race.
Indeed, while there were not always battles in the overall order, there were numerous dogfights on-track. Christian Mansell (Team Motopark) spent almost twenty minutes holding off Louis Prette (Greystone GT) post-Safety Car in the second hour, before the McLaren driver moved by at turn 14.
Throughout the middle portion of the race, Razoon – more than racing’s Porsche Cayman was confined to the pitlane. As GT racing newcomer Taegen Poles was strapped into the GT4 class entry, the Cayman would not fire back into life, and instead headed for the garage. Over two hours later, the car returned to the circuit; the starter motor was found to be the cause of the problem, and was replaced. While Razoon would not complete enough laps to be a classified finisher, both Poles and Gregor Schneider were able to complete full stints with the repaired Porsche.
By the second hour of the race, the entire field was on slick tyres. However, after spits of rain early in the second half of the race, heavy rain returned to the circuit with just under 90 minutes of racing left to go. Zac Meakin took over the race-leading Greystone McLaren for the final hour, and looked to be struggling for grip and control on his early laps in the car. However, with an almost two lap buffer, the Brit had time to find his rhythm.
In second place going into the closing stages was the #108 Iron lynx Mercedes of Sergio Sette Camara. After strong stints from Ameerh Naran and Shawn Rashid, Camara drove the last two hours of the race. The Brazilian competitor set some of the fastest laps of the race before the rain fell, and adapted well to the wet conditions. Christian Mansell was running third for Team Motopark; and with significant gaps between the top three, the podium looked secure.
Less certain was the battle for fourth. In the wet conditions, Oliver Söderström (Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin) was struggling, while Ariel Levi (Attempto Audi) was gaining at a rate of three seconds per lap or more. Going onto the final lap of the race, Levi was only 3.4 seconds away from Söderström. However, Levi would fall short, losing the car while testing the limits under braking for turn 13, running wide and ultimately settling a fifth-place finish.
As the fourth place battle was decided, Zac Meakin crossed the line to win the second edition of the 6H of Portimão for Greystone GT, along with Jayden Kelly and Louis Prette. The McLaren 720S GT3 Evo completed 170 laps. The #108 Iron Lynx Mercedes finished a lap behind in second place, ahead of Team Motopark’s #28 entry of Mansell and Marcelo Ramírez.
In the Cup 2 class, it was a dominant performance from the #911 LMR Porsche pairing, Leandro Martins and Dieter Svepes. The team elected to rush through the early pitstops, serving a bulk of the mandatory pitstop time towards the end of the race; through this strategy, the car was routinely in the overall top-five, even leading overall at times. It ultimately finished seventh, and was the first non-GT3 home.
In the GT4 class, the #11 SR Motorsport Mercedes by Schnitzelalm Mercedes crew secured a comfortable win. The car, driven by Jay Mo Härtling, Kenneth Heyer, Enrico Förderer, Cedric Fuchs and David Thilenius, finished ahead of the W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS. Daniel Nilsson, Edvin Hellsten and Max Kronberg drove the #31 in a strong showing, but could not beat the performance of the Mercedes quintet. SR Motorsport also won the GT2 class, while Greystone GT achieved an additional class win, thanks to Josh Mason, Hugo Bac and Michael O’Brien in their McLaren Artura Trophy Evo.
The second edition of the 6H of Portimão highlighted the continued growth of the event and the wider Winter Series portfolio. Despite tricky conditions and arduous moments, every car saw the chequered flag. Now, with GEDLICH Racing’s annual endurance race in the books, much of the 6H paddock continues on to Valencia, for the third rounds of the GT and GT4 Winter Series from 12=15 February.
Following a dramatic and heavily-disrupted opening weekend at Estoril, the championship standings were somewhat skewed; no driver on the 32-car grid had managed to score points in all three races. However, Van Langendonck – touted as a favourite pre-season – was the only driver to score two podiums. As such, he arrived to Portimão with a 17-point advantage over US Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov.
For the first race of the weekend – held in wet conditions – Ethan Lennon lined up on pole for Rodin Motorsport. The South African racer was joined by teammate Van Langendonck on the first row, while US Racing’s Ary Bansal and Rodin’s Alfie Slater lined-up on row two.
As the lights went out, both Van Langendonck and Slater failed to launch their cars. And as the spray began to kick-up as the field accelerated away, Van Amersfoort’s Pedro Lima was unsighted, and collected the rear of Slater. Both drivers were okay, but the contact and resulting damage was significant, and the Safety Car was required.
Dries Van Langendonck was eventually able to get his car started, and joined the rear of the pack.
Behind the Safety Car, Ethan Lennon was the race leader, followed by Ary Bansal, Thomas Bearman and Teo Borenstein.
Once the race resumed, Bansal managed to perfectly anticipate the launch from Lennon, and drew alongside the leader as they approached the first corner. With the outside yielding superior grip in the treacherous conditions, Bansal swept into the lead, while Lennon had to defend hard through the early corners to stave off Thomas Bearman.
Bansal retained his lead through the middle portion of the race, before a second Safety Car period was triggered by the stricken Mathilda Racing car of Emmilio Del Grosso, who pulled up at turn three after contact.
The track was cleared with time to spare, which left an anticipated two additional laps of racing to the chequered flag in the 30-minute +1 lap race. However, Ary Bansal elected to perform an extremely slow run to the green flag, allowing the clock to tick down to zero, thus ensuring just one more lap of racing. The Indian racer managed to gain a critical car length over Lennon when he eventually hit the throttle, and held the lead through the final lap.
Bansal crossed the line to win his first Formula Winter Series race, while Lennon was second on the road, but would later receive a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. This promoted Oliver Bearman (Van Amersfoort Racing) to second place, and Jenzer Motorsport’s Teo Borenstein rounded out the podium.
After dropping to the back after his delayed start, Dries Van Langendonck surged back to the points positions and was ultimately classified seventh, ahead of the penalised Lennon. Mathilda Paatz won the Female Trophy class.
Race Two:
Unusually for the Formula Winter Series, there were two races on Saturday, owing to the Sunday timetable being dominated by GEDLICH Racing’s 6H of Portimão GT race. This meant a limited turnaround for the teams, but thankfully both Alfie Slater and Pedro Lima were able to take the start after their race one start-line collision.
Once again, Ethan Lennon and Dries Van Langendonck made up the front row of the grid. This time, the race sprang into life under a single-file rolling start owing to the wet conditions, and Lennon held the early lead. Further back, Oleksandr Savinkov had Rocco Coronel on his outside heading into the first turn; unfortunately, the pair touched, sending Savinkov spinning to the rear of the field.
While Lennon held the lead off the line, Van Langendonck wasted no time challenging the South African. At turn five, the McLaren junior driver got to Lennon’s inside, and secured the race lead. The Belgian set about building a cushion at the front, while Lennon fought teammate Alfie Slater for second place.
Van Langendonck would go on to build an eight-second lead for a dominant win, while Slater battled past his Rodin Motorsport teammate Lennon to secure second place. Lennon would take third, marking a 1-2-3 finish for the Kiwi-flagged team.
Mathilda Paatz and Zoe Florescu had an exciting battle further back in the field. And, while the German would win the Female Trophy class on the road, she would later received ten seconds of penalties for track limits infringements. Therefore, in her first F4 race finish, Florescu won the class.
Race Three:
The third race saw Van Langendonck start from pole position, with Oleksandr Savinkov alongside on the front row. As the race began, Savinkov made the better launch, and briefly led the field on the run to the first corner. Further back, Roman Kamyab (US Racing) failed to get his car started, but was thankfully avoided by the rest of the pack.
Savinkov’s time at the head of the order proved to be short-lived, as – in a mirror of his race two opening lap – Van Langendonck once again eased by at the turn five hairpin, settling into the race lead. However, with Tomas Rudokas (Renauer Motorsport) and Vittorio Orsini (AKM Motorsport) colliding at turn three, a Safety Car was scrambled.
Once the resumed, Van Langendonck was able to manage the launch well. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Savinkov asked too much of his Tatuus running around the sweeping corner, and ran wide at the restart. This left him vulnerable to an attack from US Racing teammate Ludovico Busso and Rodin’s Ethan Lennon, but remained in second position.
Savinkov was able to build a gap to Busso behind, however, he could not match the pace of Van Langendonck. Rodin’s Belgian racer won by 7.980 seconds over Savinkov, while Busso performed brilliantly to hold off Ethan Lennon, and claim his inaugural Formula Winter Series podium. Further back, Rocco Coronel briefly fell out of the points in a VAR car that looked tricky in the wet conditions, but would ultimately finish in ninth place. Meanwhile, Zoe Florescu won the Female Trophy once again, staving off significant pressure from Campos Racing teammate Chiara Bättig.
Courtesy of two more race victories and a recovery to a points-scoring finish in race one, Dries Van Langendonck extended his points lead. He now has 108 points, and a 42-point advantage over his closest rival. Portimão race on winner Ary Bansal moved up to second in the standings with 66 points, after US Racing teammate Oleksandr Savinkov finished 14th in race two. Savinkov now sits third in the standings, ahead of Rocco Coronel and Thomas Bearman.
The Formula Winter Series teams now cross the border into Spain, for the third round of the season at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The F4 talents will once again take on three races on the 14-15 February, at an event that is expected to welcome a significant crowd of fans.
22 – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
5 – 8 FEB PORTIMAO /P
12 – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
Ahead of the race weekend, a pair of entries sadly failed to materialise. Chefo Sport’s Ligier JSP4 had gearbox issues that could not be rectified in time for the event, while the Formula GT Radical SR3 had to withdraw owing to an off-track driver injury.
This left a compelling mix of drivers entered by Sünder Motorworks and SPV Racing. Sunder would enter a total of three Radical SR3 XXRs; one under its own team name, for 2025 Radical Cup Scandinavia champion Sebastian Schou and his fellow Dane Morten Strømsted. Meanwhile, live onboard camera company RaceStreaming entered two cars for its co-founders Jess Frandsen and Diego d’Ambra. The cars were run by Sünder, and d’Ambra raced alongside the Malaga-based team’s founder, Steven Berndtson. SPV Racing entered a Radical SR3 RSX for Michael Hove.
Both races in the Sports Prototype Winter Series were held on Saturday, in order to minimise costs for teams and drivers. However, by the late-morning, the weather at Portimão had become unsuitable for racing. As rain pelted the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, the decision was taken to delay both races; the first 40-minute encounter would begin at 15:25, and the second was set to start at 17:20, leaving less than an hour-and-a-half to repair and prepare between races.
The track was drying from the earlier rain showers once it was time for the first race; despite the track not being far away from ‘slick-readiness’ by the formation lap, all teams elected to run the duration of the race on wet tyres.
Sünder Motorworks’ #24 entry started the race from pole position, with Morten Strømsted at the wheel. Michael Hove (SPV Racing) launched from the outside of the front row, and briefly had a nose ahead, but Strømsted eased through to an early lead through the first corner.
Hove soon lost out to Team RaceStreaming’s Diego d’Ambra. d’Ambra would quickly drive away from Hove’s distinctive yellow machine, but didn’t have the pace to pursue Strømsted in the lead. While the top two drove away, Hove proved to be a difficult adversary from Jess Frandsen, who spent much of the first half of the race searching for a way by the RSX-spec RS3, which had the straight-line speed advantage.
Finally, as the pit window opened, Frandsen saw the inside line beckon at turn 13, and made what proved to be a definitive move.
Morten Strømsted handed the leading car over to Sebastian Schou during the mandatory pitstop window. The young Dane set about consolidating the lead built by Strømsted. And, while Steven Berndtson took over the second-placed #22 Team Racestreaming entry and briefly matched the pace of Schou, this form would prove fleeting.
By the end of the race, Schou built a lead of 27 seconds, receiving the chequered flag ahead of Berndtson, Fransden and Hove.
Race two:
The second race of the weekend saw Sebastian Schou take the start from pole position, and he quickly drove away from the field upon the start of the race. Michael Hove once again started from second place, but Steven Berndtson had already moved into second place by the first corner.
This left Hove looking through the mirrors at Jess Fransden once again, though this time the battle would not extend throughout the first half of the race. Fransden took the outside approach towards turn eight, before cutting to the inside and finding superior traction to move past Hove on the first lap.
And, while Hove looked like he had the pace to apply to pressure in return, the SPV driver soon received a drive-through penalty for exiting the pits while red lights were showing, on the sighting lap prior to the race. After serving this penalty, another was applied by race control in short order for starting the race out-of-formation. This effectively concluded the battle for third place in Fransden’s favour.
The first stint of the race saw Schou build a significant lead over Berndtson, before handing the car over to Morten Strømsted. However, on the elder driver’s out-lap, the car looked slow. Indeed, at turn 14, Strømsted pulled over, shut off the engine and reset the car. It was later revealed that he had been stuck in second gear owing to a sensor issue.
The reset worked, and not only did Strømsted retain the lead, but he would ultimately win by 46 seconds over Diego D’Ambra. It was a perfect weekend for Morten Strømsted and Sebastian Schou, who move on to Valencia as runaway points leaders.
The Sports Prototype Winter Series will race its second and final round of 2026 on Saturday 14th February, as the GEDLICH Racing Winter Series collaborates with ROOW for a weekend of motorsport, car culture, high-adrenaline action and thrilling experiences.
6 FEB – 7 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 14 FEB VALENCIA /E
Jöge, typically on-site at Winter Series events in his organisation and sales roles, will step behind the wheel of the Cup X class Porsche at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. These will be his first-ever GT races.
The 29-year-old began his journey towards car racing on simulators, becoming a well-regarded and fast competitor. He also competed on two wheels, in Motocross. Having driven road cars extensively on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the same venue was the natural place to pursue the goal of racing cars. He did this through the Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring (RCN) series, whose events are a gateway to the NLS and Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Jöge remarked that the step into the GT Winter Series is a “dream-to-reality” experience, and added: “Being part of this starting grid is completely new territory. The opportunity means a great deal to me! Without trust, support, and the right people by my side, this step wouldn’t be possible.”
The Equipe Vitesse Porsche will use the #147 starting number, which the Siegen-based competitor also carried in Motocross.
The Equipe Vitesse team is a regular presence at GEDLICH Racing events, and competes in a broad array of GT competitions. The team, founded by Andreas Herbst and run by his daughter Jil, won the 2025 Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy championship, along with GT Winter Series regular Kenneth Heyer. The team also competed in the NLS and the Nürburgring 24 Hour throughout the season, in the flagship SP9 classes for GT3-spec cars.
The GT Winter Series event at Valencia is set to feature deluxe entry far exceeding 30 cars, on a weekend featuring a huge variety of on-track and off-track action. Spanish automotive festival ROOW will take over the paddock with incredible display cars, live music and stands showcasing exciting automotive products. On-track, the GT Winter Series will be joined by the GT4 Winter Series, Formula Winter Series and the new Sports Prototype Winter Series. As always, all of the racing action will be streamed live and free on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
The #19 entry will once again feature Tim Hütter, and the Austrian will be partnered by Singaporean driver Ethan Brown. Brown, 21, has amassed plenty of racing miles in both the GT3- and Super Trofeo-spec Lamborghinis. In 2025, he was the vice-champion in the PRO class of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia.
Meanwhile, the second Engstler Lamborghini – the #63 entry – will join the grid for the first time this season. After a race-winning cameo at Estoril in a Cup 1 Ferrari, reigning Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli champion Felix Hirsiger steps into the GT3 class of the GT Winter Series.
Hirsiger will be joined by 21-year-old Finn Zulauf, the 2024 ADAC GT4 Germany and GT4 European Series PRO-AM champion. In 2025, Zulauf had his first taste of the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in ADAC GT Masters, winning a race on his way to eighth in the standings.
Last year’s Valencia event was a highlight of the GT Winter Series season, and a deluxe grid is expected once again this year. The occasion will be made even more-spectacular off-track, as the ROOW automotive expo takes over the paddock. Hundreds of incredible exotic and modified cars, live music and thrilling action shows will run alongside a busy weekend of Winter Series action, and tickets are available from just €20!
For those not lucky enough to be in attendance, both days of racing action will be streamed live on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
15 JAN – 18 JAN PORTIMAO /P
22 JAN – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
12 FEB – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 MAR – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 MAR – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
