February 8, 2025 | GT Winter Series

GTWS: Engstler Motorsport makes GT Winter Series comeback

Engstler Motorsport is set to return to the GT Winter Series for the first time since the 2022/2023 season, entering a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II for Luca Engstler and Jonas Karklys at Valencia.

The Wiggensbach-based team’s history covers the highest levels of touring car and GT racing competition, winning the Independent Teams’ championship in the 2011 World Touring Car Championship, four ADAC TCR Germany titles, and the 2024 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title within the Gold Cup class.

Luca Engstler, 24, is the son of team founder and touring car stalwart Franz. His early successes came in touring car racing, where he secured no fewer than four TCR titles across the category’s Middle Eastern, Asian, Malaysian and German championships.

In 2022, he switched focus to GT racing. 2024 marked his most successful year since the switch, securing a pair of DTM victories, and forming part of Engstler Motorsport’s 2024 GT World Challenge Sprint Gold Cup-winning line-up. His appearance at Valencia marks his first race since a crash at Macau in November, where the German sustained multiple injuries.

Engstler’s GT Winter Series co-driver is a former rival from the ADAC TCR Germany, Jonas Karklys. The 35-year-old Lithuanian began circuit racing in the late 2010s, while he and his father are also familiar to the rallying scene in their home country. After racing in Renault Clio Cup, he moved into TCR Germany in 2021, winning a race on his way to sixth in the standings.

The 2022 season saw Karklys finish fourth in TCR Germany, before moving on to ADAC GT Masters. He concluded 2024 by competing in the FIA Motorsport Games at Valencia, bringing his Lithuanian-flagged Juta Racing Audi home in fifth place. The pairing of Juta Racing and Karklys also secured two top-five finishes at the 2024 GT Winter Series Valencia event.

Now paired with Engstler Motorsport and Luca Engstler, Karklys will be looking for his first GT Winter Series podiums as the perfect start to 2025. Since the line-up features Engstler, a Gold-rated driver, the team will be entered into the GT3 Pro class.

The third round of the GT Winter Series promises to be a thrilling battle, with numerous leading drivers and teams joining the grid at Valencia. All three races will be streamed live, while spectator access to the venue is free.