Title fights tighten at Aragon

For the first GT race of the weekend, SR Motorsport’s Moritz Wiskirchen led the early stages from pole position. Further back, Konrad Motorsport’s Carrie Schreiner and Juta Racing’s Eimantas Navikauskas collided, damaging the right-rear of Navikauskas’ Audi. Moments later, at Turn 10, the Lithuanian racer spun on his own, seemingly because of damage including bodywork rubbing on the tyre.

This meant Jonas Karklys was promoted to second for Team Engstler, while Charles Dawson was now running third for AKM Motorsport, making his GT3 debut in the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

Behind them, a fabulous battle for fourth took place between two GT3 cars – Thomas Andersen’s Razoon Porsche and Simon Orange’s JMH McLaren – and a pair of Cup 4 Lamborghinis. After plenty of dicing in the early stages, the Super Trofeo-spec Lamborghinis of Shota Abkhazava and Jerzy Spinkiewicz broke away from the GT3 machines, having a great tit-for-tat scrap for the class lead.

Eventually Spinkiewicz found his way past and, a couple of laps later, a late-braking Andersen collided with Abkhazava. The ART-Line driver continued, but the chance to mount a further challenge to Spinkiewicz had passed. Andersen had to retire the 992 GT3 R due to suspension damage.

Further ahead, Dawson challenged for second place towards the end of the race, however, an error at Turn 1 on the final lap released Karklys from his clutches.

Wiskirchen crossed the line to win by nine seconds, scoring a maximum score of 20 points as the team looked to salvage its overall title defence. Karklys finished second ahead of Dawson, with Spinkiewicz finishing fourth and first within Cup 4 for UNIQ Racing. The Cup 1-winning Ferrari of Cristiano Maciel finished fifth overall, while Calle Bergman won the Cup 2 class for Porsche Cup machinery.

Race 2:

The second race of the weekend was held in the early afternoon of Sunday and, unfortunately, one car would not make it to the pre-grid. An issue with the right-front brake left Luca Engstler stranded on the sighting lap, and the Engstler Motorsport Lamborghini had to wait until the pitstop race for more action.

This left the stage open for polesitter Simon Birch, who dominated proceedings from lights to flag. He eventually won the race by 22 seconds over Juta Racing’s Jonas Gelzinis, who celebrated his birthday with a visit to the overall podium. Cup 4’s victor Spinkiewicz finished third overall.

The circuit was slippery after overnight rain and, while the top three had clean races, the same couldn’t be said for others. Ryan James had a moment under braking for Turn 16, spinning and collecting Przemyslaw Bienkowski’s PTT Racing’s Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Both cars suffered major damage, but the drivers walked away.

Maciel won the Cup 1 class once more, while A-Workx Motorsport’s Ahmed Arif Alkhoori topped the Cup 2 class. The Emirati driver was in the midst of his inaugural weekend in racing, meaning he had taken class honours in his second-ever motor race.

Race 3:

The 55-minute pitstop race was shortened to 50 minutes owing to timetable constraints, and Razoon’s Andersen lined up on pole. The GT3 Pro class Engstler Lamborghini of Karklys started second, and was this time able to take the start.

As the field ran towards the first corner on the opening lap, Maciel misjudged his braking. The Ferrari 296 Challenge made contact with Dawson’s AKM Mercedes, damaging both cars and ending the race for both parties. The safety car was deployed to retrieve the Maciel Ferrari.

After the restart, Karklys took the lead, and set about building a gap at the front.

As the race neared half-distance, it began to drizzle around the circuit. As tyre changes can’t be made during the mandatory stop, and a tyre swap must be part of a two-minute visit to the pits, it was not a straightforward decision to move to wets.

Many of the cars on slicks struggled, barring Marcus Clutton, who took over the Orange by JMH McLaren and began lapping quicker than anyone else on the dry weather rubber. Soon, Clutton led the race.

Many, including the Engstler Motorsport team, elected to pit for wets. However, as the race entered its final minutes, the rain had stopped, and the slicks had once again become the tyre of choice. Clutton’s dominant drive allowed he and Simon Orange to secure the victory overall, ahead of Cup 1 winners Andreas Sorensen and Mikkel Mac. Alessio Ruffini and Milos Pavlovic finished third and took the Cup 4 win, after an impressive final stint from Pavlovic.

GT4 Winter Series: Three winners in three races, as Elite extends advantage

GT4 featured three different winners but Elite remains in a strong position

Photo by: Gedlich Racing

In the GT4 Winter Series, the primary goal for Elite Motorsport and overall points leader McKenzy Cresswell was increasing the championship advantage.

In the first race, the opposite occurred, as the SR Motorsport team claimed the spoils. Enrico Forderer drove a magnificent race in the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT4, winning by just a second over Cresswell. A 32-point deficit between the pair was now down to just 25.

The overall rostrum was rounded out by Baudouin Detout, as Racing Spirit of Leman finally claimed its first podium of the season with its Aston Martin Vantage AMR Evo.

Joachim Bolting won the PRO-AM class, as the eccentric German moved up from AM by dint of sharing with Plusline Racing Team’s Peter Terting. Michael Sander took the win in the Cayman Trophy.

Race 2:

Race two was a markedly different race than the first, thanks in no small part to the heavens opening overnight above Motorland Aragon. With a shift in conditions came a shift in the pecking order, as the SR Motorsport Mercedes looked far less compliant in the hands of Jay Mo Hartling.

The opposite could be said for the W&S Motorsport Cayman of Alon Gabbay, who made short work of ascending from sixth on the grid to the race lead. Gabbay set about building a gap, driving away from all-comers including second-placed Tom Lebbon in the Elite McLaren Artura.

A late safety car was triggered to collect the AM class W&S Motorsport entry driven by Daniel Blickle. This did not cause an issue for Gabbay, who still secured his first win of the season. Lebbon finished second ahead of Härtling, clawing back three points of the championship lead cushion for Elite.

SVG Motorsport’s Owen Hizzey thrived in the rain once again to take the PRO-AM win and fourth overall. He finished just ahead of Cedric Fuchs, who also used the tricky conditions to his advantage in the Cayman Trophy class.

Race 3:

Cresswell and Lebbon’s lead had been cut after the first two races, but victory in the enduro boosted their title bid

Photo by: Gedlich Racing

Elite Motorsport’s Cresswell and Lebbon started from pole for the 60-minute pitstop race. Cresswell performed the opening stint and, despite an early challenge from RAFA Racing by Race Lab’s Callum Davies, he soon stormed away at the front.

Forderer, who shared the front row with Cresswell, found himself as low as sixth at the end of the first lap. With the conditions still somewhat greasy, and low ambient temperatures, the Mercedes appeared to struggle for grip early on. However, he soon began moving up the order, and handed the car over to Hartling in fourth place, behind the Race Lab McLaren of Charlie Hart, and second-placed Detout.

The trio then battled for much of the second stint. Shortly after losing two positions in the fight, Detout had a spin courtesy of what looked to be a small issue with the brakes. However, he gathered up the car and continued, finishing fourth.

Hart settled for third after an intense sparring match with Hartling. At the front, Cresswell and Lebbon eventually held a 15s lead, dominating the third race and extending Cresswell’s points advantage to 35.

Marc Elman and Hizzey secured the PRO-AM victory after Bolting and Terting amassed 45s of track-limit penalties, while Luisa Kahler claimed the Cayman Trophy win for herself and Sander. Kahler fought throughout the final half of the race with fellow SR Motorsport driver Fuchs.

Barcelona: Titles to be decided as deluxe entries take the start

In the GT Winter Series, four teams from four classes enter the weekend with a significant opportunity to fight for the title. On 158 points, AF Corse’s Maciel and Rui Aguas lead the overall standings from the Cup 1 class. With three Cup 4 podium finishes at Motorland, Auto Sport Racing’s Ruffini and Pavlovic are in a strong second overall in the points on 150.

Defending champion SR Motorsport sits third on 144 points, and will hope for strong GT3 class results for Wiskirchen and Kenneth Heyer at Barcelona. Wileco Motorsport’s Calle Bergman and Manz Thalin, the Cup 2 leaders, are just two points adrift in fourth.

In the GT4 Winter Series, only SR Motorsport can dethrone Elite’s Cresswell in the overall title fight. Forderer and Hartling will need a strong weekend, and a dip in fortunes for Cresswell and Elite, who are yet to finish off the podium this season.

Both GT grids from the GEDLICH Racing Winter Series will feature deluxe entries this coming weekend at Barcelona. The likes of Schubert Motorsport, PROsport Racing and NM Racing Team are joining both grids, and additional leading teams from around Europe are seizing the chance to race at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix on 8-9 March.