January 27, 2026 | News | GT Winter Series
At the traditional home of Portuguese motorsport, regular GT3 entries such as Orange Racing by JMH, SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm and Grupo Prom Racing Team would have compelling competition from Vincenzo Sospiri Racing. The team’s Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 would be driven by Mattia Michelotto and Ignazio Zanon, the line-up that won the 2025 Italian GT Sprint PRO-AM championship.
Another surprise on the entry list came courtesy of LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler. Alongside a Lamborghini GT3 entry for Jonas Karklys, Felix Hirsinger arrived in the paddock on Friday to join Cup 1 in a Ferrari 296 Challenge car. As the 2025 Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli champion, the Swiss racer would be the benchmark for the class.
A damp but rapidly drying circuit greeted the drivers for the first race; some left the pits on slick tyres, while those on wets unanimously decided to switch ahead of the formation lap. Ignazio Zanon had claimed pole position in the VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2, and shared the front row with LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler’s Felix Hirsiger (Ferrari 296 Challenge).
By the time racing began, it was dry enough for a two-by-two rolling start, which played heavily into the hands of Felix Hirsiger. The power advantage of the Engstler Ferrari shot him into a clear lead, forcing Zanon to settle for second, ahead of Kenneth Heyer in the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Further back, Dexter Müller (CBRX by SPS Mercedes) lost control on a slippery patch, and spun out. The rest of the field successfully avoided the Swiss, who continued from the rear of the pack. A lap later, approaching turn two, Lukas Azzato (Kessel Ferrari 296 Challenge) and Alessio Ruffini (Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini) collided. Both cars were left stranded, as the remaining drivers came under Safety Car control for the first time.
Upon the race resumption, Jonas Karklys was looking menacing from P4, at the wheel of the Engstler Lamborghini GT3. He committed to the damp inside line at the first turn, but unfortunately lost the rear end on turn-in, falling to the back of the field like Dexter Müller before him.
The return to racing action was fairly short-lived, as Igor Klaja lost control between T1 and T2, necessitating another Safety Car. Moments after the SC was deployed, Seweryn Mazur’s right-rear tyre began to escape the wheel well owing to a wheel nut failure; this stranded him at pit entry.
An extended pause to the racing finally concluded on the penultimate lap, and while Felix Hirsiger would remain unchallenged at the front, Simon Orange’s fourth position was less secure. The Orange Racing by JMH McLaren was under immense scrutiny from a recovering Jonas Karklys, and the pair were almost side-by-side as they negotiated the final corner. Unfortunately for Karklys, he pushed the limit too far on the outside, and found himself bouncing across the gravel, and down the order.
Hirsiger would claim the race victory by 3.5 seconds, with Ignazio Zanon finishing as the GT3 winner and overall runner-up in the VSR Lamborghini. Kenneth Heyer came home in third position for SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm, ahead of Simon Orange.
After Alessio Ruffini and Igor Klaja’s incidents, Petar Matic (Auto Sport Racing) and Oleksii Kikireshko (PTSportsbyUp2Race) won the Cup 4 and Cup 2 classes respectively.
Race two:
In drying conditions, VSR’s Mattia Michelotto would start the Sunday morning sprint race from pole position, and was followed into the first turn by Jay Mo Härtling. Alessio Ruffini caught a major slide under braking at T1, but was unfortunately in a collision moments later at the apex with Seweryn Mazur. Both Lamborghinis were damaged, and would ultimately withdraw from the race.
Jonas Karklys briefly moved up to third in the Engstler Lamborghini, but Orange Racing’s Marcus Clutton performed a committed overtake around the Parabolica Ayrton Senna at the end of the first lap. Moments later, Karklys looped the car exiting the first corner, hit the Armco and triggered a Safety Car. His rear suspension was damaged on-impact.
After the Safety Car, the top three broke away, but Clutton did not quite have the same level of pace as Michelotto and Härtling. The pair were closely matched through the race, and while the SR Mercedes driver was able to match Michelotto’s pace, he could not find a way past. Michelotto won the race over Härtling by just six tenths of a second.
Marcus Clutton rounded out the overall podium, ahead of Felix Hirsiger, who once again won the Cup 2 class. Auto Sport Racing’s Petar Matic won the Cup 4 class in his Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2, while Oleksii Kikireshko once again secured Cup 2 honours in the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup.
Race three:
Sopping wet conditions meant that the drivers were presented with a significant challenge for race three. The final race of the weekend – the 55-minute pitstop encounter – once again saw the #66 VSR Lamborghini of Ignazio Zanon on pole position, alongside Felix Hirsiger in the #155 Engstler Ferrari. Zanon seemingly caught out Hirsiger as the race began. This not only allowed Zanon a great launch; it also allowed third-place starter Jay Mo Härtling to move up to second. Härtling looked confident in the opening corners, and promptly dispatched the VSR Lamborghini around the outside of the turn five kink.
14th place starter Tim Heinemann (PTSportsbyUp2Race Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) quickly moved through the field, and was at times the fastest car on-track in the early stages of the race. Heinemann reached fourth position within ten minutes, but was then demanded to drop back two positions for making up places off the defined racing surface.
The pit window opened with 25 minutes of racing complete. Just over halfway through the window, Alfredo Hernandez lost control of his Grupo Prom Mercedes exiting the final corner, triggering a safety car. Under safety car conditions, the pit window is paused, and the mandatory stop cannot be made. However, both Tim Heinemann’s #88 Porsche and Petar Matic’s #32 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini visited the pits under safety car, netting 70-second penalties for not correctly serving a mandatory pitstop.
Teams that had already made their pitstops – including the VSR Lamborghini, now in the hands of Mattia Michelotto – had a distinct advantage. Meanwhile, Jay Mo Härtling, who had yet to hand the SR Motorsport Mercedes to Kenneth Heyer, would see the lead he’d built nullified and lost.
Indeed, once the green flags waved once more and the pit window restarted, it was VSR’s Michelotto who inherited a comfortable race lead. Alas, it was not to last, as Michelotto made an unforced error with just over six minutes remaining.
This handed the race lead to Oleksii Kikireshko in the Up2Race Porsche he took over from Tim Heinemann. However, since a legal pitstop had not been served, victory would therefore be handed to Kenneth Heyer and Jay Mo Härtling. This would mark a 25th overall victory for Mercedes-AMG in the GT Winter Series, an apropos achievement for SR Motorsport and long-term Mercedes driver Heyer.
Jonas Karklys took second position for LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler, while Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton rounded out the podium. Cup 4 honours fell to Alessio Ruffini and Milos Pavlovic in the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2, while the Kikireshko/Heinemann combination still won the Cup 2 class despite its penalty.
Felix Hirsiger completed a sweep of Cup 1 in the Engstler Ferrari 296 Challenge car.
At the conclusion of the GT Winter Series’ Portuguese leg, SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm’s Härtling and Heyer lead the overall and GT3 points standings with a score of 92. Orange Racing by JMH’s Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton run second on 86.
The GT Winter Series will return from 12-15 February at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. In collaboration with automotive culture festival ROOW, the event is expected to be the biggest Winter Series event to-date. A week prior, many teams from the GT Winter Series will arrive to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for the second-running of GEDLICH’s 6H of Portimão, from 6-8 February.
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
