Aleksander Ruta will graduate from karting this year. The Polish racer will compete in the full Formula Winter Series, and will be keen to build upon promising seat time in testing. Ruta will be CRAM’s full-season hope in the Formula Winter Series, and will be hoping to perform well within the Rookie category for single-seater newcomers.
The second CRAM seat will be split between two drivers. For the first two rounds, including this weekend’s season-opener at Portimão, Aiva Anagnostiadis will take the wheel. The Australian has previously competed in karting domestically and internationally, and made her first appearances in single seater racing during the 2024 Indian F4 season, finishing tenth in the standings and scoring a top-five finish at Madras.
German 15-year-old Elia Weiss will join CRAM for the second half of the season, and will also race alongside Ruta in the 2025 Italian F4 season. The driver from Aschheim has two national karting championships to his name, including the 2024 ADAC Kart Masters X30 Senior class. His debut in single seaters will come in the Formula Winter Series, and is hotly anticipated by those looking for Germany’s next major talents.
CRAM, a staple part of the F4 landscape, is returning to the GEDLICH Racing paddock after debuting last year.
The first round of the 2025 Formula Winter Series begins this coming weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. All three races will be streamed live on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
Thomas Andersen and Simon Birch will team up once again, just days after debuting the car at the second round of the GT Winter Series. Birch, 18, has already competed in a pair of endurance races with Razoon in 2025; the Dubai 24H and Yas Marina 6H. The younger driver is the more experienced in international endurance racing, meanwhile, Andersen’s long-distance efforts confined to the Danish Endurance Championship.
Razoon – more than racing is a fixture of the endurance racing scene across Europe and the wider world, and has regularly scored class victories within Creventic’s GTX and GT4 categories, using KTM vehicles.
The 6H Portimão will mark the first time Razoon has taken on the challenge of a long-distance race utilising a GT3-spec machine.
GEDLICH Racing hosts two six-hour races in 2025, beginning with the 6H Portimão on 31 January-2 February. A week after the conclusion of the 2025 GEDLICH Winter Series calendar, the 6H Barcelona will wrap up the winter racing calendar from 14-16 March. Both events will be streamed in their entirety on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
30 JAN – 02 FEB 6h of PORTIMÃO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
13 MAR – 16 MAR 6h of BARCELONA /E
Driver and team partner Jose Garcia will race on both weekends, along with Sünder Motorworks founder Steven Berndtson. The pair will be joined by Lionspeed’s team principal Patrick Kolb for the six-hour race. Garcia and Berndtson will be looking to gain track knowledge during the GT4 Winter Series event, and perform well in the AM class in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS.
Garcia was part of a multiple class podium-winning entry in the 2024 Creventic 24H Series GT4 class, along with Kolb. Berndtson has spent the majority of his driving career as a coach, however, his previous experience includes Radical and Porsche Cup racing. In the GT4 Winter Series, the pair will be entered into the AM class.
The Bad Homburg-based team is a Porsche specialist in both historic and modern motorsport. Over the course of the young team’s history, Lionspeed and Kolb himself have excelled in GT competitions around the world, including NLS, GT World Challenge Europe and the Creventic 24H Series. In the Nürburgring 24 Hour, Kolb has won the SP9 PRO-AM class twice, in 2021 and 2024. On the second occasion, he did so with his own team.
Kolb and Garcia come to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve with vast experience of the car, and joined by Berndtson, the Lionspeed GP squad will be a very competitive GT4 entrant during the 6H Portimão.
The GT4 Winter Series and the 6H Portimão will be streamed live on the GEDLICH Racing Winter Series YouTube channel, alongside the entire 2025 Winter Series. Subscribe to see the first GEDLICH six-hour race unfold!
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
Both AF Corse Cup 1 entries secured overall race victories at Estoril. In the sprint race on Sunday, Cristiano Maciel won in his second ever motor race, despite starting the race from seventh on the grid. In the pitstop race, which concluded early due to a red flag, Andreas Bogh Sorensen claimed the win despite crashing moments before the race was halted.
Both Maciel, his co-driver Rui Aguas and Sorensen will be back on the grid this weekend at Portimão. While the Danish driver indicated that he intends to drive solo in the GT Winter Series, Mikkel Mac is listed as Sorensen’s second driver. For this weekend, the #76 Ferrari will be joined by a fleet of additional entries.
John Dhillon and Matt Griffin, who finished third in the 2024 GT Winter Series, are making their first appearance of the season in a Cup 1 Ferrari 296 Challenge. Rafael Duran will also enter the Cup 1 class, set to be joined by Singaporean racer Sean Hudspeth. Hudspeth has been a well-regarded Ferrari GT driver since 2018, and won the PRO-AM class of the Italian GT Championship in 2019.
Alberto Duran and Nicola Caldani will share the fifth 296 Challenge. Meanwhile, a Cup 5 entry will also appear in the AF Corse garage, as Darren Howell is joined by Sean Doyle in a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo.
AF Corse is one of many leading teams that will be present at the second round of the GT Winter Series at Portimão. All of the action will be streamed live on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
At Portimão and Valencia, the full-season Club class Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 of Thilo Goos will be joined by Tobias Bille Clausen and Axel Bengtsson in the Mercedes.
Clausen will be making his car racing debut in the GT4 Winter Series, after a year spent testing numerous GT4 cars in 2024. Previously, he competed across Europe in Kart racing, securing strong results in Germany, Sweden and his native Denmark.
Axel Bengtsson, from Sweden, has had a brief but varied car racing career so far. After a strong tenure in Karts, he moved into the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) for 2022. He immediately impressed, scoring a race victory on his way to sixth in the standings. Since then, Bengtsson has raced in GT4, Radical sportscars and Porsche Cup machinery, as well as the new all-electric iteration of STCC.
The young all-Silver line-up will join the PRO class of the GT4 Winter Series. Both drivers will be eager to begin their partnership with strong results, ahead of their summer campaign in the 2025 ADAC GT4 Germany with Mücke.
The 2025 GT4 Winter Series will be streamed live all season long on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
*pictures from GT Winter Series season 2022/2023 & 2024
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
While three teams and three manufacturers shared the victories at Estoril 12 months ago, the Elite Motorsport McLaren Artura of Joshua Rattican and McKenzy Cresswell swept all three races in 2025.
Saturday:
Saturday’s 30-minute sprint race, held in picturesque sunshine, saw Rattican escape the chasing pack from pole position. SR Motorsport’s Enrico Förderer would be the only driver to stay within sight of Rattican for much of the race. However, an ignition coil problem caused the 18-year-old German’s Mercedes to enter an emergency mode on 75 per cent power. This allowed the McLaren of GT4 debutant Charlie Hart (RAFA Racing by Race Lab) to inherit second position, while Förderer limped home to third.
Pro-AM victory would go to Tim Horrell of W&S Motorsport, who battled with the PROs throughout the race. After two years of development and hard work, the paraplegic racer reported feeling more comfortable than ever with his bespoke hand control setup.
Sunday:
Sunday morning marked the GT4 racing debut of GB3 race winner McKenzy Cresswell, and he would pick up the baton left by his teammate in the second sprint.
Wet conditions made for a largely spread out affair, and Cresswell would eventually win by 17 seconds. Peter Terting of Plusline Racing Team took second, also netting the PRO-AM victory in the #69 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS. 2024 GT Winter Series champion Jay Mo Hartling took third overall in the SR Motorsport Mercedes, ahead of SVG Motorsport’s Owen Hizzey. The PRO-AM class Ginetta moved up from ninth on the grid in the first laps of the race, much to the joy of the British team making its international GT debut.
Cedric Fuchs came home in fifth overall, winning Cayman Trophy in his CS-spec Porsche Cayman. The Cayman Trophy cars are theoretically slower than GT4s, but the 2024 Tourenwagen Junior Cup champion thrived in the wet.
The rain continued to be a factor in the 60-minute pitstop race, and Elite Motorsport saw no reason to change its form. Josh Rattican and McKenzy Cresswell won by over 25 seconds, capping off a magnificent start to Elite’s busy, multi-discipline 2025 schedule.
Alon Gabbay and Maximilian Schreyer took second place in their W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman, with the latter driver performing admirably in the tricky conditions during his first ever weekend of car racing. SR Motorsport’s Hartling and Förderer took third position. Tim Horrell and Nico Gründel won the PRO-AM class, and once again looked to be on pace with PRO cars throughout the race.
Round two: Additional entries add to the thrills at Portimao
In the second round of the 2025 GT4 Winter Series, the grid will be enriched by top teams including Lionspeed GP, FK Performance and Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport. Meanwhile, BWT Mucke Motorsport will expand its effort into the PRO class, entering a Mercedes AMG GT4 for Axel Bengtsson and Tobias Bille Clausen.
After making his racing debut at Portimao 12 months ago, Franz Linden of Speedworxx Automotive will once again enter the Cayman Trophy class alongside his driver coach Arne Hoffmeister.
Saturday:
The first GT Winter Series race of 2025 was held in near-perfect conditions. A multi-class fight at the front of the order enthralled observers trackside on Saturday evening.
Uniq Racing’s Jerzy Spinkiewicz started the race from pole position in his Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo II, alongside the CBRX by SPS Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Dexter Muller.
However, as the 30-minute race began, the #76 AF Corse Ferrari 296 Challenge car of Andreas Bogh Sorsensen surged up the field from the third row of the grid. The Dane found himself in the race lead by the first corner. He would hold this position for two laps, before Spinkiewicz capitalised on an opportunity to lunge for the lead at turn one.
Spinkiewicz proceeded to build a gap at the front, however, an electrical issue would strike the Lamborghini two laps later.
Sorsensen inherited the lead once more, and was immediately under scrutiny from GT3 Poland’s Seweryn Mazur in a Super Trofeo-spec Lamborghini. In a near-replica of Spinkiewicz’s earlier move, Mazur braved a dive to the inside at the first corner, and emerged as the leader. Sorensen was demoted to second, and in the clutches of two GT3 Mercedes; Muller and Kenenth Heyer (SR Motorsport).
Muller found his way by and proceeded to build a gap. However, Heyer struggled to pass Sorensen’s Cup 1-entered Ferrari, which had a noticeable edge on the main straight. After over ten minutes where Heyer – the reigning GT Winter Series champion – had to exercise patience, opportunity finally beckoned as the pair swapped positions over half a lap. The decisive move came at turn three, seemingly dropping Sorensen out of the overall podium places.
However, it was not to be for the #1 SR Motorsport Mercedes, which limped into the pits with a technical glitch. Sorensen, after a race of hard battling, claimed third overall and the Cup 1 win, behind GT3 class winner Dexter Muller in second.
Seweryn Mazur, in his Cup 4 Lamborghini, held firm at the front to take victory for his GT3 Poland team. For the second year in a row, the Polish outfit claimed the first overall win of the GT Winter Series season.
Sunday:
Sunday morning announced itself with sheets of rain at Estoril, which would persist for much of the day.
A home nation hero emerged in Sunday’s 30-minute sprint, as Portugal’s Cristiano Maciel moved through the order in his Ferrari 296 Challenge. The AF Corse driver took Cup 1 honours and overall victory from seventh on the grid, a stunning achievement in his second ever motor race.
The wet conditions appeared to suit the Cup 1 Ferrari Challenge cars, as second overall fell to Goncalo Araujo in his 296. Cup 4 racer Jerzy Spinkiewicz took third overall in his Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo, while Andreas Bogh Sorensen took fourth overall. Moritz Wiskirchen in the #1 SR Mercedes finished fifth and won the GT3 class.
The 55-minute pitstop race took place in the toughest conditions of the day. The safety car was deployed twice to recover stranded cars, and ultimately, a red flag would signal an early conclusion. After battling at the front throughout the weekend, Andreas Bogh Sorensen finally took an overall race victory for AF Corse, as well as the Cup 1 honours. However, Sorensen was one of several drivers to lose control in increasingly wet conditions. He found the barriers after aquaplaning at turn five, and as several others also suffered incidents on the same lap, the race was red-flagged with just under ten minutes remaining.
Sorensen was awarded the victory on count-back. Cristiano Maciel and Rui Aguas finished second overall, followed by GT3 class winners Kenneth Heyer and Moritz Wiskirchen.
Round two: Bigger grids and excitement expected at one of the world’s most exciting tracks
As the GT Winter Series gets ready for its second round at Portimao, many eyes will be focused on young talent Keanu Al Azhari. The 17-year-old Emirati was a winner in last year’s Formula Winter Series, and will make his GT3 racing debut with SSR Performance this coming weekend in a Porsche 992 GT3 R.
Thomas Andersen and Simon Birch join the field, in their first race outing with the Razoon Porsche they are set to race in ADAC GT Masters. Konrad Motorsport, Pellin Racing and Attempto Racing are also set to join the grid.
The Cup classes will benefit from additional Ferrari 296 Challenge entries from AF Corse, a pair of KTM X-Bow GT2s from MZR, and the first appearance of Greystone GT on the GT Winter Series grid, with Oliver Webb and Ryan James in a McLaren Artura Trophy.
All of the action will be streamed live on the Gedlich Racing Winter Series YouTube channel, on January 25-26.
Saturday:
Konrad Motorsport’s Soufi started the Ligier JSP320 from pole position in Saturday’s opener, which was held in pristine conditions. His pole time – a 1:32.813 – was over two seconds quicker than the second place starter, High Class Racing’s Philip Lindberg.
Every team with two drivers began the race with their Bronze-rated competitor at the wheel, which allowed Soufi and Lindberg – both Silver-rated drivers – to streak away at the front of the pack. Lindberg was not able to match the pace of his American rival; as the mandatory pitstop window opened, Soufi held an advantage in excess of 16 seconds.
In the Prototype Winter Series, longer mandatory pitstop times are required for line-ups exclusively featuring Silver and Gold drivers, in order to balance the field. This meant that – upon pitting – Lindberg lost second place to Laurents Hörr, who had taken over the DKR Engineering Duqueine from Jon Brownson. Soon, the Dane also came under pressure from David Droux, who ultimately passed the High Class Ligier to secure third place for CLX Motorsport.
Pierre Kaffer, running a lap down in the M Racing Ligier he took over from Michael Doppelmayr, found himself on the back of race leader Danny Soufi. After biding his time, he unlapped himself with an overtake at the first corner, only to spin just two turns later. Kaffer quickly recovered.
Soufi ultimately won the race by ten seconds over Hörr. Soufi was acting as his own data engineer at Estoril, and had made adjustments to the car prior to qualifying on Saturday Morning. It was clear that these efforts had paid off.
Sunday:
Sunday was a stark contrast to the previous afternoon in the skies, as heavy rain had replaced a gentle January warmth.
Soufi – who had a major collision in wet conditions while aquaplaning at Estoril in 2024 – started from pole position once again.
This time, he and Laurents Hörr broke away from the rest of the pack. Hörr kept Soufi within his eyeline throughout the first 20 minutes of the race, before losing control of the car at the high-speed turn 8 kink. The DKR Engineering Duqueine was beached in the gravel, and a brief Safety Car period was deployed to allow recovery of the #3 car.
This Safety Car slightly delayed the pit window, and brought the field closer together just prior to the stops. As a result of this bunching effect, along with the pitstop handicaps, Soufi rejoined the race in third place.
Racing Experience’s Wolfgang Payr had received the #12 Duqueine from 18-year old Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen, who fought admirably with M Racing’s Pierre Kaffer during the first stint. Payr seemed acutely aware that his fight was not with Konrad Motorsport’s Soufi, and the American driver moved into second with great ease. Shortly thereafter, CLX Motorsport’s Quentin Joseph came into view in the Ligier he had taken over from David Droux. In the treacherous conditions, Soufi again had the confidence to quickly dispatch the Belgian.
With less than five minutes to go, Michael Doppelmayr spun at the penultimate corner, and came to rest with his rear-axle firmly planted in the gravel. This necessitated a Full Course Yellow, which would remain in place until the end of the race.
Soufi crossed the line at an idle to win his second race of the weekend, ahead of Quentin Joseph, who may have fallen to third without the FCY intervention. Philip Lindberg had been on the charge for High Class Racing, and was mere car lengths away from second place as the race was neutralised.
Payr ultimately finished fourth, ahead of Jon Brownson and Laurents Hörr’s DKR Duqueine, which finished two laps down after its gravel excursion.
Soufi’s clean sweep leaves him on 50 points in the championship, 17 clear of second-placed Quentin Joseph and David Droux.
Portimao: Intrigue expected as PTWS makes its second Portuguese stop
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is the next stop for the Prototype Winter Series, and it is anticipated that Soufi will face a challenge.
Drivers such as Philip Lindberg and Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen, who are taking their first steps in LMP3, will continually improve as the season goes on. Meanwhile, the established pairing of Laurents Hörr and Jon Brownson will be keen to secure their first victory since joining the series in 2024.
New competition will also be present, including Racing Spirit of Leman’s Christian and Vincent Gisy. All of the action from Portimão will be streamed live on the GEDLICH Winter Series YouTube channel, On January 25-26.
For the 2025 season, the returning Enea Frey will be joined by Bart Harrison, Alba Hurup Larsen and Artem Severiukhin, all of whom will be looking to claim front-running status against a highly-competitive field.
Enea Frey, 16, concluded his 2024 Formula Winter Series campaign with his strongest result of the season, and will be looking to build upon the experience gained during his first year of car racing. The Swiss racer’s strongest result of the summer came at Le Castellet, where he secured his first top-five finish in Italian F4.
Bart Harrison, 17, also joined the 2024 Formula Winter Series in a partial campaign with Rodin Motorsport. The Brit scored eight top-ten finishes during his summer in British F4, and made a cameo appearance in Italian F4 with Jenzer at Monza. This partnership now extends to the GEDLICH Racing paddock.
Alba Hurup Larsen, 16, made her debut in car racing during the 2024 Indian F4 season. Previously, the Dane took up karting in her pre-teens, and won the 2023 FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars programme. 2025 is set to be a thrilling season for Larsen, who will represent Tommy Hilfiger on the 2025 F1 Academy grid during the summer season.
Artem Severiukhin, 18, will make his step up to car racing in 2025. While the driver is yet to have raced in F4 competition, he topped the 2023 Italian F4 post-season test at Vallelunga. A competitive tenure in karting was recently completed with a fourth-place finish at the FIA Karting World Cup in the KZ2 class.
The 2025 Formula Winter Series begins at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve from 30 January-2 February. Every race of the season will be streamed live on the Winter Series YouTube channel, and spectators can attend the first three rounds of the season for free.
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
The Nürnberg-based team, which specialises in maintaining Ferraris for both road and track use, will enter a car for Oscar Ryndziewicz at Estoril and Portimão. The Scotsman will be making his racing debut, having participated in numerous track days previously.
Mertel Motorsport drivers have previously competed and scored podium finishes in the Cup 1 class of the 2024 GT Winter Series, which is reserved for Ferrari Challenge machinery. Both the brand-new 296 Challenge and the previous 488 will join the grid within this class.
The German squad and its significant fleet of eligible cars are available to drivers wanting to take part in the GT Winter Series and other GEDLICH Racing events.
The 2025 GT Winter Series is just days away; the first round at the Circuito Estoril will be live-streamed on the Winter Series YouTube channel. Spectator access is free for the event, held from 16-19 January.
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
