Second round of the season with 26 entries and a top-class field

The GT Winter Series for the 2021/2022 season made an impressive showing at the season opener in Portimao in mid-December. A strong field, top-class cars, surprising winners – that’s how the racing action at the season opener can be summed up. On the 15th and 16th of January, the GTWS will now start for the first time at the traditional Estoril circuit and will pick up where it left off in Portugal in December, as the field is no less top-class and the competitive environment once again formidable.

Pardo back with the LMP3
Javier Ibran Pardo is not only an established driver in the LMP classes, but also familiar to the inclined GTWS follower from last season. After one or the other victory he was on course for the championship. His chances were only spoiled by a technical problem with his Ligier in Aragón, which prevented him from taking part in the final race, leaving the crown to Haub/Jilkova. Pardo missed the opening round in Portimao this season and will therefore again have little chance of winning the title, but will certainly be at the top of the standings in the individual races.

GT3s again popular entries
Back in action again will be the runners-up from Portimao, Olimp Racing. After their double victory in the Algarve, they will be competing on the F1 history-steeped Estoril track with two picture-perfect Ferrari 488 GT3s. However, they are not the only Ferraris in the class, because “Die Biermacher Racing” is also bringing one to the start with Uwe Lauer. It will be interesting to see how the Italians do against the AMG GT3 of Good Speed Racing and Piotr Wira or the no less impressive McLaren 720S GT3 of 7TSIX Racing, which is driven by Peter Karpati and James Kell. Also eagerly awaited is the clarification of whether one or the other of the GT3s manned by a professional will succeed in upsetting Pardo in the LMP3 at the front.

Cup-R class with 992 and Ferrari
The Cup-R class traditionally has a strong line-up. It’s great that Sebastian Glaser will compete with the Ecke Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Many expect this brand new racer to be able to keep up with one or the other bolides from the GT3 category. A-Workx (Michael Brode/Tim Hendrickx), HP Racing (Ziegler/Assfalg), Huber Racing (Kapfinger/Kapfinger) and Laptime Performance (driver to be named) are well-known GTWS greats, all of whom will be competing with the 991.2 GT3 Cup. They are joined by GTWS newcomer E2P Racing with drivers Pablo Burguera and Javier Morcillo, who are also looking to push the 991.2 forward. The class is made particularly colorful by the Ferrari 458 Challenge of Ralf Schuchmann, whose team “Die Biermacher Racing” is not only known for particularly beautifully designed Ferraris, but also likes to serve beer along with good cheer in the paddock after work. The Cup-R class is unquestionably one of the favorites when it comes to particularly hot battles.

GT4 and the defending champions
In the GT4 class, the defending champions Robert Haub and Gabriela Jilkova will compete. They have taken race number 1 with them to their new team “Drago Racing Team ZvO” and there on their AMG GT4. Theo Oeverhaus (also AMG GT4), who dominated the opening event at will and won all three races, wants to make life difficult for them as champions.
Particularly popular are the GT4 models from Porsche, which compete in their own class due to their not quite competitive engine power. KKraemer Racing is competing with three of these racers at once. At Bluemle Motorsport, the boss Manfred shares the 981 GT4 CS with the splendidly accelerating Werner Panhauser from Austria, who we already liked very much in Portimao. Again RFF Motorsport with Harry Verkerk and Patrick van den Berg, who will probably again mobilize their heart-stoppingly fast lap times.

BMW class with 5 cars
Schnitzelalm Racing has already proven who is the measure of all things in terms of performance on the BMW M2 CS Racing. Marcel Marchewicz marked clear lap records in the opening race and also his partner Michael Sander came in his first GTWS race dazzling and very briskly around the laps. “Pursued” the two are three other Schnitzelalm BMW in mixed line-up and the two M2 CS Racing of BMW Spain. The latter shows itself not only in spick-and-span optics and stickers, but the troop always radiates a high degree of professionalism and good mood. Incidentally, further BMW M2 CS Racing entries are expected for the other rounds in Jerez and Barcelona, including a second entry car from BMW Spain.

Sprint and Endurance a popular mix – promoter satisfied
The GT Winter Series will be contested in two 25-minute Sprint races and a 45-minute Endurance with mandatory pit stops. At the inaugural event in mid-December, the finale of the Endurance went into the twilight, creating almost picturesque scenes and a touch of 24-hour feeling. The organizers expect something similar at the Estoril circuit near Lisbon.
GTWS promoter Gedlich Racing, meanwhile, is pleased with how the season has gone. “We had a mega opener,” said project manager Robin Selbach. “Now we continue seamlessly in Estoril and once again bring a great field to the start. The track is super fun and conveys international flair – Senna, Prost and Mansell send their regards. In addition, the asphalt is almost new. In five minutes you’re at the sea and in 20 minutes in Lisbon – what more could you want?”

Preliminary starter list and further Estoril documents >>

 

Uwe Lauer and his team Die Biermacher Racing will continue to compete in the GT Winter Series. The beer entrepreneur is entering his third season in the racing series organised by GEDLICH Racing. The ambitious gentleman driver Lauer will be actively supported by former ADAC GT Masters driver Francesco Lopez as driver coach.

Lauer, who will also be competing in several German racing series such as the STT and the Ferrari Club Deutschland Racing Series during the summer season, will, as usual, drive a Ferrari 488 GT3 in which he has already gained a great deal of experience. This October, he was crowned STT Champion of the Year 2023 at the Nürburgring.

The entrepreneur is supported by his main sponsor, Pfungstädter Brauerei. The Hessian brewery not only advertises extensively on the gentleman driver’s Ferrari, but has also provided a fun evening or two in the GT Winter Series paddock in the past.

Good Speed Racing is one of the true perennial favourites in the GT Winter Series. This year, the Polish racing team will once again be competing in the series organised by GEDLICH Racing with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The Mercedes team will therefore be competing in the upcoming GT Winter Series season for the third time in a row.

Last year, team owner Piotr Wira, who also takes the wheel of his AMG GT3 himself, was supported by the fast Dutchman Daan Pijl as driver coach. Wira and Pijl contested the endurance races together as a duo. At last year’s season opener in Portimão, the duo drove to a commanding overall victory in the endurance race in rainy conditions.

During his time in the GT Winter Series, Piotr Wira was able to improve his driving skills considerably, also thanks to the help of Daan Pijl. This impressively underlines the fact that the racing series is the right environment for ambitious gentleman drivers who want to establish themselves in GT racing.

Sprint races with pepper at the top
The two sprint races of the GT Winter Series at Portimao had it all. The Audi R8 LMS from Olimp Racing left a special scent mark, not only starting from pole but also winning race 1 with commanding lap times. The driver was none other than ace Karol Basz, who shared the Audi with Marcin Jedlinski.
The overall leaders were also a lot of fun in Race 2, as the splendidly mounted Axel Sartingen put a lot of pressure on with his Black Falcon AMG GT3, clawing the LiLac Porsche GT3 R driven by the duo of Jim and Glynn Geddie as early as the first lap. The latter eventually took the win at the head of the field ahead of the crumbling Olimp Audi and Sartingen.
It was a pity that the Razoon KTM GTX could not start for technical reasons. Especially for Portimao a direct comparison with the GT3 cars would have been interesting. Now a start at the January race in Estoril is planned.
It should also be noted that the ex-DTM driver Timo Scheider, who was actually on a commanding pole for race 2, did not start – a pity, because he would have had every chance of taking the overall victory with his AMG GT3 entered by 10Q.

Cup Porsche with speed and discipline
The Cup class in Portimao reflected the speed that was indicated in qualifying. With times of 1:47 min, many a GT3 driver became envious and so the Cup Porsches, all of the 991.2 type, pushed forward into the front field. The Huber Motorsport driver Jakob Schell was particularly sovereign and won the class. Impressively, Simon Eibl from Laptime Performance was hardly inferior to him and finished P2. In race 2 Tim Hendrikx took over the wheel and had to leave the field to Ulrich Ziegler and David Assfalg on the HP-Porsche, they came in P2 after the Huber Porsche.

GT4 with clear fronts – who should beat Oeverhaus?
Theo Oeverhaus drove in front in both sprint races with his AMG GT4 entered by CV Performance as if he was driving in a class of his own. There was no doubt about his victory at any time. Not even the reigning champions Haub/Jilkova could do anything about it, even though they drove solidly and quickly, but ultimately had to settle for P2. In race 2 the second CV-AMG got into better and better shape and even finished ahead of the car of the champions entered by Zakowski van Ommen Racing, which thus only came in third. Reason for the placement was for Robert Haub and “Quick Gabi” above all that they had to take up run 2 because of a defect in need of repair before from the pit lane and had to fight first laboriously through the field.
However, “Team mates on the march” was also the motto at DRAGO ZvO, because the sister car with the line-up of Martin Toth and Josef Liska crawled within sight of the Champs in the lap times and drew solid fast laps.
Father and son Gisy offered a sight worth seeing. While father Christian was slightly ahead in terms of lap times, son Moritz was able to catch up and turn the finishing order for race 2 – here it was “son before father” – great! By the way, the offspring also had to compete in the Sartingen house. Son Mika did better and better on the Black Falcon Porsche 718 GT4 and drove in race 2 already in the good front midfield of the GT4.

BMW M2 and KTM
In the BMW M2 CS Racing Winter Cup Marcel Marchewicz on the Schnitzelalm M2 was the power that could not be beaten. He kept up with the GT4s and left quite a few of them behind him – the 450 hp version of BMW’s current Cup racer obviously has the potential for this.
In the KTM sport auto Wintercup Robert Schiftner drove his Razoon Racing X-Bow R very well. Although he was unable to match his qualifying lap time, the pace was sufficient to keep up with the GT4s. In any case, it was noticeable that at a summery 20 degrees around noon, the times dropped noticeably.

Full throttle throughout in the Endurance
Almost idyllic could be called the conditions that prevailed in Race 3, for with a finish just before half past six it was a veritable red sundowner with temperatures still spring-like just in time for the checkered flag.
If it hadn’t been written on the flag, you wouldn’t have thought that the race was designed as an endurance race, because the race was so lively from the first moment on. Especially Daniel Schwerfeld, who shared the Black Falcon AMG GT3 with Axel Sartingen and was allowed to drive the start, grabbed the Olimp-Audi R8 on new Michelin tires right in the starting lap and drove up and away – he was caught up by the circumstance of a safety car phase, which ended only shortly before the volley of pit stops. Colleague Sartingen could not quite keep up with the other GT3s, although the lap times were very good, but the field was very tight and high-caliber.
Once again Jakob Schell in the Huber Porsche impressed, driving the endurance run alone and finishing in P5 overall by far the best Cup car.
Sartingen’s son Mika, who led the Porsche GT4 field throughout the weekend and thus also in Endurance, can take some credit for his performance. This is by no means a matter of course for a rookie.
The Dutch drivers of RFF Motorsport should also be mentioned, because they managed more than once with their 981 GT4s to leave the newer 718 Porsches behind and keep them in check. We also particularly liked the fact that Karsten Krämer’s GT4 “Caymen” picked up more and more speed and were able to keep up with the GT4 field.

Oeverhaus leads the standings
The overall winners in terms of points are always determined according to the motto “the score is settled at the end”. The credo of the GT Winter Series is that not the fastest car should get the most points, but the driver who has shown the best performance in the most competitive environment. Thus, the GTWS has a points system that primarily takes into account the number of starters in the class.
Theo Oeverhaus takes the lead in the standings with flawless victories in the most competitive class.

The next round will take place on January 15 and 16, 2022, at the traditional Estoril circuit near Lisbon.

Livetiming >>
Results >>
Gabriela Jilkova Live Camera on Twitch >>

Two exciting sessions
The two qualifying sessions for the GT Winter Series opener in Portimao have been run. With a strong field of 33 cars and well-known names, the Winter Series presents itself in the best weather.

Scheider on pole, but not the fastest among the GT3s
Ex-DTM ace Timo Scheider starts this weekend on the 10Q AMG GT3 and takes first position right from the start with a time of 1:42.072. Team-mate Stengel, on the other hand, fell well short of this fabulous time, placing P5 in his qualifying session. Behind Scheider with a gap of about half a second follows the Olimp Audi R8 LMS of Jedlinski and Basz, while the Black Falcon with amateur Axel Sartingen and Daniel Schwerfeld takes third place. Sartingen showed top form and stayed within touching distance of Schwerfeld’s lap time.
The fastest GT3 in terms of lap times, however, was Marcin Jedlinski on his Olimp Audi R8, who chiseled a solid 1:41.313 into the Algarve asphalt in Qualy 1.

Cup class puts the pedal to the metal
The question of whether the Cup Porsches would succeed in penetrating the GT3 phalanx was exciting from the start. Huber Motorsport succeeded in this feat, as Jakob Schell drove to P5 overall, leaving two GT3s behind him! Also remarkably fast were the combo of Tim Hendrikx and Simon Eibl, who in unison thrashed their 991.2 Cup Porsche to low 1:48 times, filling up the front row of the Cup grid.

Defending champions in front, but not quite at the top
Robert Haub and Gabriela Jilkova are the reigning champions of the GT Winter Series. They start in the team of DRAGO Racing Team ZvO with the AMG GT4. They shone as usual with great lap times, but had to admit defeat in both sessions to Theo Oeverhaus on the CV Performance AMG GT4, who produced 1:50 times like clockwork and took double pole in GT4.
Not to be sneezed at was the performance of Christian Gisy on the beautifully prepared racing one Aston Martin Vantage, who as an amateur gave the established drivers a run for their money, moving up to the first and second rows of the grid respectively.

BMW M2 and KTM Winter Cups start
In the BMW M2 CS Racing Winter Cup Marcel Marchewicz outclassed the competition, it can hardly be called otherwise. Almost three seconds faster than the runner-up, the BMW Spain car, is a real statement, as is the lap time of 1:54.435, with which he outstripped several cars in the nominally faster GT4 class.
In the KTM sport auto Winter Cup, Robert Schiftner clocked a respectable 1:56.263 on his Razoon Racing entered X-Bow R.

The first race starts at 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. CET), with race 2 at 3:20 p.m. CET. From 5:40 p.m., there will be the 45-minute Endurance with mandatory pit stop.

Livetiming >>
Results >>
Gabriela Jilkova Live Camera on Twitch >>

Golden times in the GT Winter Series – BDR Competition by Grupo Prom Racing Team will be competing in the GT Winter Series with a Lamborghini Hurácan Super Trofeo EVO2. The Belgian team’s Italian one-make cup car will start in an golden design, making it an absolute eye-catcher. The spectacular car, which stands out with its guttural V10 sound, has a total output of 620 hp.

This November, BDR Competition celebrated winning the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals in Vallelunga, Italy. The participants of the three continental Super Trofeo championships met on the track just outside Rome to decide the overall winner in the World Final. Amaury Bonduel prevailed against 81 opponents and won the World Final with a victory and a third place.

The team from Baisy-Thy in Belgium is no stranger to GEDLICH Racing events. This year, the team took part in the Endless Summer test days in Valencia, where they laid the foundations for winning the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals – BDR Competition would like to build on this in the summer season, and the preparation for this will be highly professional with the GT Winter Series.

Season opener at Portimao on December 11/12, 2021

The season opener of the GT Winter Series 2021/2022 is just around the corner. On December 11/12, 2021, the series will enter its third season. With 35 entries, it is in top form.

Fast-burning favorites for overall victory
Javier Ibran with his Ligier LMP3 is well known to most from the previous season, where he already took overall victories. He is being chased by several GT3 cars. While Olimp Racing plans to enter a Ferrari 488 GT3 and an AMG GT3, LiLaC Rennsport will send a Porsche 991 GT3 R into the race. However, 10Q with Johannes Stengel and Thomas Zabel could also have a say, as could Good Speed Racing, both on AMG GT3s. As the season progresses, it will be exciting to see whether the all-new Porsche 992 Cup has a chance of chasing the cars from the GT3 class. Two teams have these vehicle types in their luggage and will dare to try. But one or the other prototype will also be competing – experience has shown that the Portimao track suits these downforce cars very well. Also back on the grid is last season’s “near-champion” Axel Sartingen in a Black Falcon AMG GT3.

Cup Porsche popular
The Cup R class is very well occupied, with Cup Porsches of the 991 type in particular, but also the new 992. Last year already showed impressively that fast Cup cars can keep up well with the nominally faster GT3 cars in Portimao.
It will also be exciting in this class because professional teams such as a-workx, HP Racing and Laptime Performance will be on the grid. In addition, Huber Racing with Jakob Schell entered shortly before the entry deadline.

GT4 class – defending champions compete
Robert Haub and Gabriela Jilkova are the reigning champions of the GT Winter Series. From now on they start in the team of DRAGO Racing Team ZvO and drive again an AMG GT4. The aim is to defend the title, but also to prepare optimally for the German summer season in 2022. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

As early as 2021, the results of Haub and Jilkova in the ADAC GT4 Germany clearly showed that the pairing started with a tidy training advantage over the competition. While in the class GTS racing one plans with two Aston Martin Vantage, also newcomers like CV Performance Group with their AMG GT4 can be found in the entry list. But also Bluemle with the 981 GT4 Clubsport known from the Porsche Sports Cup is there, Werner Panhauser takes the wheel. They start in the Cup S class, which was created especially for the 981. Allied Racing, known from the GT4 Germany, will bring the Porsche 718 GT4 to the start and is aiming for victories in the GTS category. Black Falcon has also signed up, with Mika Sartingen driving a Porsche 718 GT4 CS. On the other hand, RFF Motorsport from the Netherlands is relying on the “old” Porsche 981 GT4. They use two of the vehicles and start like Bluemle in the Cup S class.

BMW with Schnitzelalm & BMW Spain
Schnitzelalm Racing is at the start with three BMW. Michael Sander shares his M2 CS Racing with Marcel Marchewicz, while the other two Schnitzelalm BMWs are of the M240iR type. BMW España sends two drivers to the race, José Manuel de los Milagros Viñegla and Nerea Marti Marti, who share a BMW M2 CS Racing.

KTM strongly represented
While Razoon Racing sends three KTM of different types into the race, Teichmann Racing enters with Horst Felix Felbermayer and the X-Bow GT4 Evo and would like to have a say in the GT4 class.

Organization satisfied – big tracks on the calendar
“We are very happy that more and more teams and drivers like our concept of winter racing in combination with trackdays,” says GTWS project manager Robin Selbach. So the GT Winter Series is looking forward to the kick-off with satisfaction, but also to the other locations. The 2021/22 calendar makes impressive reading, as after Portimao it continues with Estoril in January, before the fabulous circuit of Jerez in February. The final event will be Barcelona on March 12/13, where GTWS expects a particularly rich grid and will offer a livestream for coverage.

The complete starting list is available here>> 

 

Thomas Angerer’s racing team will also be strongly represented on the Winter Series platform this winter. The championship-winning team from the 2021/2022 GT Winter Series season will compete in two racing series this year. In addition to the programme in the GT Winter Series, the team will be competing in the new GT4 Winter Series with a truly large line-up.
Schnitzelalm Racing will also appear as SR Motorsport at international events in the coming year, thus creating the opportunity to offer other sponsors and partners a platform.

The Niederzissen-based team attaches great importance to promoting young talent. The two Mercedes-AMG GT4s entered under Schnitzelalm Racing will be manned by juniors and will compete for the GT4 Winter Series title. The team is offering ambitious young talents the chance to participate at an attractive price and the two best juniors will receive a sponsorship of 30,000 € each for the 2024 season in the GTC Race. The team will also pass on the GT4 Winter Series prize money to the drivers if the juniors win any. The GT4 Winter Series champion will receive 30,000 €, the runner-up 20,000 € and the third-placed driver 10,000 €. One driver’s seat in an AMG GT4 is currently still up for grabs.

Two Porsche Cayman GT4 CS will be entered by SR Motorsport, each with a Gentlemen and a Junior. One of the cars will be driven by Michael Sander, the GT Winter Series champion of the 2021/2022 season.

The team will field up to two Mercedes AMG GT3s in the GT Winter Series. There will also be a Junior and a Gentlemen car. Schnitzelalm regular driver and GTC Race protégé Jay Mo Härtling will drive the junior car, among others.

It is part of Schnitzelalm Racing’s promotion of young talent that the talented drivers are in the car all year round, which has proven to be a truly successful concept in recent years. For team boss Thomas Angerer and his ambitious team, the Gedlich Racing Winter Series is therefore the ideal field of activity in winter, allowing the racing team to expand its line-up.

Enrico Fulgenzi takes part in races and trackdays
The team around founder Enrico Fulgenzi, based near Ancona and thus not far from the Italian Riviera, is competing in the GT Winter Series. The Porsche specialists are fully committed to the Cup class and the 991 car.

Seats available
Although Fulgenzi has already contracted drivers (see more below), there are still cars available for the entire GT Winter Series season or individual races. Interested parties should contact the team directly.

A Japanese gentleman enters the race
The Japanese Gentleman Driver Shintaro Akatsu starts in the GT Winter Series. He is driving the Porsche 991 Cup entered by Enrico Fulgenzi Racing. The aim is to keep up well in the Cup class and gain experience on the various tracks in Spain and Portugal.

 

“Shinta” fulfills life’s dream
Shintaro (“Shinta”) is fulfilling a lifelong dream by competing in professional racing series. Driving such a car, and on the most beautiful tracks in Southern Europe, is a big task that Shinta is happy to take on.

Coached and accompanied by Enrico Fulgenzi Racing
To ensure that things work out quickly and safely on and off the track, the Japanese driver receives extensive support from his team. The focus is not only on pure driver coaching with line management, driving technique and engine details. Fulgenzi also takes care of adjusting the vehicle to the driver’s style. The most important thing is that Shinta feels comfortable in the car and that the setting matches his preferences.

We wish Shintaro Akatsu every success in the GT Winter Series!

https://www.enricofulgenziracing.com/
info@enricofulgenzi.com

The Winter Series will provide live stream coverage of all races in its four racing series. The service provider for this will be Alpha Live from Great Britain.

Mart Hilgenberg, responsible for marketing at promoter Gedlich Racing: “We are very happy to be working with such an experienced provider as Alpha Live.

We have everything in place to provide the best possible coverage of the GT Winter Series, GT4 Winter Series, Formula Winter Series and Prototype Winter Series.“

For teams, this means offering their advertising partners every opportunity for optimal marketing in winter too. “A live stream is the best way to follow the exciting races of the Winter Series,” says series coordinator Stefan Lehner.

Partners who are interested in an advertising presence as part of the livestream are welcome to contact sponsoring@winter-series.com

All livestreams will be shown on the brand-new Winter Series YouTube channel, as well as on the Alpha Live YouTube channel.

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