February 18, 2025 | GT Winter Series
In the third round of the GT Winter Series, no fewer than 38 cars joined the entry list, creating a busy atmosphere as the teams prepared for the first 30-minute sprint on Saturday. The race began with a rolling start, and pole-sitter Juliano Holzem (Schubert BMW M4 GT3 Evo) was among those swallowed up by a fast-starting Eric Cheung.
While Cheung led into the first corner, this would prove to be short-lived, as his fellow AF Corse Cup 1 entrant Talal Shair suffered a major impact as he crossed the start line. After receiving contact from Mertel Motorsport’s Oscar Ryndziewicz behind, Shair spun into the pit wall, which also collected fellow AF Corse entrant Sven Schömer. All three drivers were okay, but three Ferrari 296 Challenge cars were eliminated from the race, while Talal Shair saw no further action for the rest of the weekend.
The incident in the mid-field necessitated a red flag. Eventually, the race resumed under safety car, before the green flag flew with 22 minutes left on the clock.
Juliano Holzem led the field at the sharp end of the pack, in the yet-to-be-homologated Evo-spec BMW. The Invitational entry was under scrutiny from Comtoyou Racing’s Matisse Lismont, in his Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo. While Lismont kept Holzem honest, the German driver was able to manage the race from the front, winning his first race at the wheel of a GT3 BMW.
Lismont finished second, winning the GT3 class, ahead of GT3 Pro class victor Jonas Karklys in third overall in the Engstler Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo II. Carrie Schreiner, on her return to Konrad Motorsport, finished fourth overall in the Evo 1 version of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
Eric Cheung finished fifth overall in his Ferrari 296 Challenge to win Cup 1 for AF Corse. DC Motorsport’s Ulrik Larsen took home ninth overall to win Cup 4 in his Super Trofeo-spec Lamborghini, while PTT Racing’s Hubert Darmetko secured the Cup 2 victory on his return to the series in the #7 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup.
Dramas befell SR Motorsport’s Kenneth Heyer during the race, after a failure at turn one left the Mercedes-AMG GT3 going straight on at turn two. The reigning champion hoped for better fortunes on Sunday.
Race 2:
The second sprint race came on Sunday morning. Luca Engstler geared up to race for the first time since sustaining injuries at Macau in November, and he would start the race from pole in the Engstler Motorsport Lamborghini. Moritz Wiskirchen, in the SR Motorsport Mercedes driven by Heyer the previous day, started second.
For Wiskirchen, the start would prove to be the end of the race. Rafael Suzuki, from third on the grid, looked to claim the inside line for second place at the apex of turn one, but the Comtoyou Aston Martin collided with the Mercedes. Both cars were sent into a spin, and Suzuki’s Aston Martin was left stranded at the exit of the corner. Unfortunately, Suzuki’s car would be collected by Alberto Duran (AF Corse Ferrari) and Plusline Racing Team’s Joachim Bölting.
All four parties were out of the race, as well as Wileco Motorsport’s Calle Bergman, who was tagged into the gravel as the field tried to take evasive action.
Luca Engstler continued to lead as the safety car was deployed, and upon the resumption of the race, he set about distancing himself from the field. With Cup 1 cars directly behind Engstler, fellow GT3 drivers including Sandro Holzem had to work hard to try and move forward, before attempting to catch the leader.
By the time Holzem had moved into second, Engstler had already built an unassailable lead of over ten seconds. On his return to the cockpit, Engstler won the race, which finished under safety car. Holzem finished second, ahead of the Cup 1-winning Araújo Competição Ferrari of Gonçalo Araújo.
Seweryn Mazur won the Cup 4 class for GT3 Poland, while Ryan James secured the Cup 3 category, just as he had during race one in his Greystone GT McLaren Artura Trophy. The Cup 2 battle was a show-stopper, as Hubert Darmetko and Mariusz Górecki (Forch Racing by Atlas Ward) fought throughout the race. Darmetko ultimately came out on top for PTT Racing, finding his way past Górecki just prior to a spin for Aleksander Beatovic’s Lamborghini, which triggered the race-ending safety car.
Race 3:
For the third and final race, Jonas Karklys started the Engstler Lamborghini from pole position. He held his place through the opening corners, and quickly built a small lead while Juliano Holzem focused his attentions on keeping Kobe Pauwels (Comtoyou Aston Martin) in third place.
Karklys pitted from the lead in the early stages of the ten-minute mandatory pitstop window, while Holzem was one of the last to peel-in. He handed the Schubert BMW over to twin brother Sandro, who exited the pits in the lead. Engstler was in second place, and with 20 minutes remaining, he was just under four seconds behind Holzem.
Traffic would play its part in bringing the pair together with seven and a half minutes left on the clock. At turn one, Engstler carried more speed than Holzem, allowing him run towards turn two, where Holzem ran slightly wide. After running side-by-side through turn three, Engstler yielded at the next apex, setting up Holzem for an overtake at turn five.
Now at the front, Engstler had to stave off pressure from Holzem. However, in the lapped traffic, a gap formed. Engstler Motorsport’s Ferrari 296 Challenge, driven by James Owen, seemingly made an effort to keep the BMW behind him, allowing Luca Engstler to build a cushion and claim the overall and GT3 Pro class victory for he and Jonas Karklys. The Holzem family BMW took second overall, ahead of GT3 winners Kobe Pauwels and Matisse Lismont of Comtoyou Racing.
John Dhillon secured Cup 1 honours, while Przemsyslaw Bienkowski and Mateusz Lisowski won the Cup 2 class for PTT. The Cup 5 category for older Ferrari Challenge machinery provided plentiful thrills in the third race, with victory going to the AF Corse Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo of Darren Howell and Sean Doyle.
Maciel and Aguas lead the championship heading to Motorland Aragon
Cup 1 entrants Cristiano Maciel and Rui Aguas lead the GT Winter Series points for AF Corse, with a score of 134. In second place, on 114 points, is the defending champions’ car; SR Motorsport’s Mercedes-AMG GT3, driven by Kenneth Heyer and Moritz Wiskirchen. Cup 2 points leaders Calle Bergman and Manz Thalin of Wileco Motorsport sit third in the points on 112.
