January 27, 2026 | News | GT4 Winter Series

GT4 Winter Series: Estoril proves fruitful for SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm

SR Motorsport swept the weekend’s trio of GT4 Winter Series races at the Circuito Estoril, as the PRO-AM class battle intensified.

Following on from the season-opener at Portimão, the GT4 Winter Series grid once again showcased a remarkable bevy of talented drivers, and a mix of compelling entries spread across five classes.

The first race of the weekend on Saturday was held in damp conditions, which necessitated a single-file restart, much to the advantage of pole-sitter Enrico Förderer in the #11 SR Motorsport Mercedes. Ravi Ramyead held second early on, ahead of W&S Motorsport’s Porsche Caymans driven by Joachim Bölting and Tim Horrell.

While Förderer drove away at the front, Ramyead was under immense scrutiny in the L’Espace Bienvenue BMW. After several laps of close battling, Bölting appeared to miss his braking point at turn three, tagging the rear of Ramyead. As the BMW driver lost control, he received a secondary impact from Horrell; the resulting damage eliminated both Porsches, while Ramyead rejoined the race a lap down.

The Safety Car came out in the aftermath of the three car impact. Upon the resumption of the race, Tom Papenburg was now running second behind Förderer, in the PRO class CV Performance x JP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4. The youngster was celebrating his 15th birthday that day, and in his first ever car race, he wasn’t quite able to match the pace of the reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champion.

For the SR Motorsport team and Förderer, it was a first win of the season, and Papenburg was able to complete a Mercedes 1-2. Meanwhile, Franz Linden scored an overall podium in his Clubsport-spec Porsche Cayman, winning the Cayman Trophy class in the process.

After the Safety Car, Zome Racing’s Gonçalo Veiga put on a show in the McLaren 570S GT4. After several laps of trying, and pushing his Club class entry to the limit, Veiga finally passed Bruno Pereira (Araújo Competição Aston Martin) for fourth overall. Veiga and Pereira finished in tandem, winning the Club and PRO-AM classes respectively.

Race two:
Race two featured the same front row as the first race, albeit with Joel Mesch in the #11 SR Motorsport Mercedes) and Charlie Robertson in the L’Espace Bienvenue BMW.

Mesch held the lead early, but not without challenges emanating from Robinson on the first lap. However, it appeared the BMW M4 GT4 Evo’s balance was not in the British driver’s favour, as he spent much of the first two-thirds of the race holding off Cedric Fuchs in the #111 SR Mercedes. Fuchs eventually found a way by, after several laps of trying to pass around the outside at turns seven and eight. Fuchs claimed the PRO-AM lead with the move, and Frederik Zebis (W&S Porsche) eventually found his way past also, knocking Robertson down to P3 in PRO-AM after a slight nudge at Parabolica interior. However, Robertson would ultimately be promoted back to third overall after the stewards awarded Zebis a five-second penalty for the contact during the overtake.

At the front of the field, it was formation flying, with Mesch and Fuchs sealing an overall 1-2 as well as PRO and PRO-AM wins for SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm.

In the wet conditions, Mattis Pluschkell again performed well in the BWT Mücke Motorsport Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4, finishing sixth overall and winning the Club class.

Race three:
The 60-minute pitstop race marked the first time the GT4 Winter Series runners had raced on slicks all weekend; at the front, Enrico Förderer and Ravi Ramyead led the field away, but as the fielded rounded turn one, the Safety Car had already been scrambled. Troy Sovicka’s Blue Garage Racing Lotus Emira GT4 collided with Franz Linden’s Speedworxx Porsche on the main straight, sending the Lotus into the pit wall. Linden would continue, but Sovicka’s car required recovery.

Once the race resumed, Förderer held the lead, while his SR Motorsport teammate Cedric Fuchs began a climb from fifth to second place, dispatching his PRO-AM rivals in relatively short order. Despite shedding a passenger-side window, the #111 SR Mercedes looked searingly quick on-track.

During the pit window, there was a drama for the Club class #700 Mücke Aston Martin; Mattis Pluschkell had to control-alt-delete the car on his out lap, after jumping onboard the car shared with Thilo Goos. Despite the setback, the German pair would still win the Club class once the car was back up to speed.

In the second phase of the race, it appeared that Willi Kühne was struggling in the #111 Mercedes inherited from Cedric Fuchs, as he quickly dropped the PRO-AM lead and fell through the pack. However, there were no such dramas for Förderer and Joel Mesch, who completed a weekend sweep in the #11 entry, even with an eleven-second penalty applied for a short mandatory pitstop.

Tim Horrell and Frederik Zebis took a strong second overall as well as a PRO-AM win in the #32 W&S Porsche, while Tom Papenburg finished third to conclude his first weekend in GT racing.

Following Estoril, both the overall and PRO class championships are firmly in the control of SR Motorsport’s Mesch and Förderer. In the PRO-AM standings, Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead hold a six-point advantage over Fuchs and Kühne, while also sitting second in the overall classification.

As the sole AM class entrant at Estoril, Joachim Bölting moved into a comfortable class lead, while Mattis Pluschkell and Thilo Goos continue to lead the standings within the Club class for out-of-homologation GT4 cars.

Next up, the GT4 Winter Series takes on Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo from 12-15 February, at an event that will also feature a celebration of car culture in collaboration with ROOW.

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