In a thrilling new development for participants in European motorsport series and fans alike, GEDLICH Racing, the Germany-based promoter of the renowned Winter Series, has partnered with the French Ultimate Cup Series to bring very exciting prize offers for both their 2025 racing seasons. The collaboration between these two racing powerhouses is set to elevate the 2025 racing calendar with high-stakes prizes and unmatched competition.
The partnership marks a new chapter for both organizations, offering drivers and teams unique opportunities across both series and opening doors into the world of European motorsport. A highlight of the partnership between the two are the prizes with a total worth just shy of € 100.000, including prizes that benefit current teams and drivers of the Ultimate Cup Series as well as the future drivers of the 2025 Winter Series racing season.
For the 2025 Ultimate Cup Series season, GEDLICH Racing provides the following prizes:
- One participation in the brand-new 6H of Portimão race for the 1st place of the GT Endurance Cup championship 2024.
- 50% Participation in the brand-new 6H of Portimão race for the 2nd place in the GT Endurance Cup championship 2024.
- One Season entry in the Prototype Winter Series for the 1st place in LMP3-class of the European Endurance Prototype Cup 2024.
- 50% Season entry in the Prototype Winter Series for the 2nd place in LMP3-class of the European Endurance Prototype Cup 2024.
For the 2025 Winter Series season, UCM provides the following prizes:
- One season entry in the 2025 GT Endurance Cup for the 1st place in GT3 class of the GT Winter Series Championship 2025.
- One season entry in the 2025 GT Endurance Cup for the 1st place in Cup 2 class (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) of the GT Winter Series Championship 2025.
- One season entry in the 2025 GT Sprint Cup for the 1st place of the Cup 1 class (Ferrari Challenge) of the GT Winter Series Championship 2025.
With these substantial prize offerings, the collaboration aims to attract top-tier racing talent and teams from across Europe and beyond, further raising the competitive stakes in both racing series. The synergy between the two motorsport promoters creates a dynamic environment that benefits participants through enhanced opportunities for recognition and success.
“Partnering with the Ultimate Cup Series is a milestone for GEDLICH Racing. There are many racing drivers that participate in multiple racing series especially when these racing series are held on the same continent.“ said Stefan Lehner, Racing Series Coordinator at GEDLICH Racing. “We are committed to delivering excellence in motorsport, and this partnership allows us to provide even greater incentives for talented drivers and teams to participate in both the Winter Series and the Ultimate Cup Series. It’s a win for everyone involved.”
Gregor Raymondis, general manager of the Ultimate Cup Series, added: “This collaboration with GEDLICH Racing is a fantastic opportunity to expand the reach of our series and reward our participants with even greater prizes. By working together, we are enhancing the experience for everyone – from teams and drivers to fans of both series.”
About the Winter Series by GEDLICH Racing
The Winter Series by GEDLICH Racing has become a staple for racing teams and drivers looking to stay competitive throughout the whole year, offering high-intensity competition at some of Europe’s finest circuits. Known for its top-level organization and dedication to performance, the Winter Series continues to grow its global following year after year. The Winter Series currently counts four different racing series for a broad field of teams, drivers and fans, including the GT Winter Series, GT4 Winter Series, Prototype Winter Series and the Formula Winter Series, starting on the 3rd weekend of January 2025 and running until the 3rd weekend of March 2025.
More info on Winter Series by GEDLICH Racing
About the Ultimate Cup Series
The Ultimate Cup Series is a prestigious racing platform that brings together top talent across Europe for a multi-disciplinary championship. With a focus on endurance racing and strong international representation, the Ultimate Cup Series has solidified its reputation as one of Europe’s premier racing series. Included in the Ultimate Cup Series are several different racing series including the European Endurance Prototype Cup, Ultimate GT Endurance Cup, Ultimate GT Sprint Cup, Hoosier Formula Cup and the Legends Cars Cup. Ultimate Cup Organizes it’s 5th round at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours this weekend from 10 to 13 October, followed by the grand finals at Le Castellet from 7 to 11 November.
For it’s 2025 winter racing season, better known as the „Winter Series“, promotor GEDLICH Racing is excited to announce its upcoming 6-hour endurance racing events at two of Southern-Europe’s most renowned, and most beloved racing circuits; Autódromo Internacional do Algarve near Portimão, Portugal and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. The two brand-new endurance races promise to deliver high-adrenaline action as teams from across Europe compete in a very competitive six-hour race on two of the continent’s most iconic tracks.
The two 6-hour endurance races will be fully integrated in the 2025 Winter Series racing calendar and entries with BMW M240i Racing up to all possible GT-spec cars like the cars participating in the GT Winter Series and the GT4 Winter Series are allowed. However, the two special endurance racing events stand on their own and will not count for extra points for the GT Winter Series nor the GT4 Winter Series championships.
The 6h of Portimão will take place from January 31st to February 2nd 2025. Which – after visiting Circuito do Estoril and the Algarve Rollercoaster in the two prior weekends – marks the third racing weekend of the 2025 Winter Series season.
After crossing the boarder to Spain for visits to Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Motorland Aragón near Alcañiz and concluding in Barcelona-Catalunya for a double header, the 6h of Barcelona-Catalunya from March 14th to 16th will mark the final stage of the 7-event 2025 Winter Series season.
Event format:
Both events will follow packed weekend schedules with exciting racing action for both participants and spectators. The promotor invites support series and opens the grand-stands as well as the paddock for spectators during the racing weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
Participating teams can look forward to good testing conditions, as the event organisation decides to include testing sessions on the days prior to the event in the entry-fee. Teams that want to test their cars and/or drivers even more can participate in the therefore perfectly fitting Race Test events prior to the 3-day 6-hour endurance racing events.
Friday:
Test sessions allowing teams to optimize their cars before the race on Sunday.
Saturday:
1x 55-minute free practice session for final car setup adjustments.
3x 15-minute qualifying sessions to determine starting grid positions.
Sunday:
360-minute (6-hour) endurance race
The Formula Winter Series is entering its third season. After full starting fields in the last winter season, the FWS has optimized itself in many areas and is looking forward to a fabulous sunny winter 2025. Registrations have started: 75% of the places have already been allocated. The “first come, first served” principle applies.
New to the program: the F1 track in Portimão
This season, the FWS is expanding its track portfolio to include the prestigious F1 circuit in Portimão. This addition promises exciting races and an incomparable driving experience at international level. Portimão will present the drivers with new challenges and provide exciting competition.
Exclusive partnership with Pirelli and technical support by Autotecnica and Tatuus
Another highlight of the coming season is the exclusive partnership with Pirelli. All vehicles will be running on Pirelli tires, ensuring first-class performance and safety. Technical support for the vehicles and the supply of spare parts will be provided by the renowned companies Autotecnica and Tatuus, which are known for their precision and reliability. Pirelli engineers will also be on site.
Live: All races in the livestream
Fans of the Formula Winter Series can follow all races live. The live streams offer comprehensive coverage and allow viewers worldwide to experience the excitement and dynamics of the races up close. The livestream will be provided by trusted partner AlphaLive, who already shone with top broadcasts last season.
Two qualifying sessions, three races per event – including two test days before the events
The format of the races remains exciting: each event comprises two qualifying sessions and three 30-minute races. In order to offer the drivers optimum preparation opportunities, two test days before each event are included in the entry fee in the new season. These test days allow the drivers to set up their vehicles and familiarize themselves with the track conditions.
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
Registration for the new season is possible
via the Formula Winter Series website.
Your contact
Stefan Lehner – Race Series Coordinator
stefan@winter-series.com
+49 173 5252621
The Formula Winter Series (FWS) is entering its third season and is becoming a successful model. Last season, no fewer than 38 entries ensured plenty of racing action and offered up-and-coming young drivers an ideal platform to prepare for their future racing careers on Formula 1-certified circuits during the winter months.
Split into two series for optimum preparation of teams and drivers
Last season, the organizer and promoter GEDLICH Racing cooperated with Agrupación Deportiva F4 Spain, which hosts the F4 Spanish Championship during the summer season and now the collaboration takes a step further.
“From now on, we are splitting the series into a series for the Spanish customer teams and a series for international participants,” says Markus Gedlich, CEO of GEDLICH Racing. “The demand for the FWS is so great that it would only make sense to take this next step. In this way, we can keep the driver fields at a good size and at the same time provide the respective customer teams with optimal conditions that perfectly suit their needs regarding racing and testing“.
“After a successful first year of winter action alongside GEDLICH Racing and FWS, now the F4 Spanish Winter Championship comes into play to cover all the needs of current and future teams joining the F4 Spanish Championship, which will celebrate Season 10 in 2025. We are delighted with the relationship we have built up with GEDLICH Racing and ready to take on the challenges of the coming season”, says Marco Rodríguez, General Manager of F4 Spanish Championship and Eurocup-3.
Your contacts
Stefan Lehner
stefan@winter-series.com
+49 173 525 26 21
Robin Selbach
robin@winter-series.com
+49 173 585 22 44
FWS races with Pirelli, F4 Spain with Hankook
While the F4 Spanish Winter Championship continues to run on Hankook tyres, the FWS is switching to Pirelli. Stefan Lehner, Series Coordinator of the FWS explains: “This is the most logical step to go. With the Pirelli tyres, we are addressing the teams in Central Europe, Italy and the UK, since they all drive their summer championships on Pirelli tyres and thus find a perfect platform with us to drive a full racing season in a concentrated period of time, to get optimally trained and to drive for a full-fledged championship. The FWS should also be particularly attractive for the all-female formula championship within the Formula 1 platform, namely the F1 Academy racing series“.
“On the other hand, F4 Spanish Winter Championship will continue to work with its long-time partner Hankook, which is part of F4 Spanish Championship journey since its inception in 2016 and serves as a preliminary step to the drivers before making the leap to Eurocup-3”
Two promoters with a partnership concept
Both F4 Spanish Championship and GEDLICH Racing emphasize that going separate ways was a completely amicable decision and that both promoters are still in partnership with each other. It is therefore not out of the question that F4 Spanish Championship will start on Winter Series weekends in the future. “We want to strengthen each other by optimizing the positioning of the two series and thus create the perfect formula atmosphere for the winter season“, says Lehner.
Enrollments for the FWS are being accepted, 75% of places already allocated
Registration for the Formula Winter Series is already open and popular. The promoter reports that 75% of the field, which is limited to 30 cars for the 2025 season, has already been filled. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and can be booked on the formula-winter-series.com website.
Gedlich Racing, renowned organizer of premier racing events in Europe, is pleased to announce the continuation of its successful partnership with Alpha Live, a leading provider of live-streaming services. This collaboration enables motorsport fans worldwide to experience top-tier racing events in Portugal and Spain during the winter months (January to March) in real-time.
With a mind-blowing 440.000 views and over 3.5 Million impressions throughout the 2024 Winter Series season, the seamless integration of high-definition livestreams and interactive viewer experiences provided by the broadcasts has proven to be immensely popular, revolutionizing how fans engage with the races. By renewing the collaboration, Gedlich Racing and Alpha Live will continue to work on new exciting ways to further enhance the quality and reach of the broadcasts. Fans can look forward to a season full of exciting races and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
“We are keen to have found a live-streaming service provider such as Alpha Live. The experienced team from Northampton, England, have definitely shown their quality and expertise on providing livestreams for multi-class racing and multi-series racing and we are very excited to continue our partnership with them.“ said Mart Hilgenberg, Marketing Manager of Gedlich Racing. “Their professional live-streaming services have been instrumental in bringing our races to a global (14% German, 10% Spanish, 8% American, 8% United Kingdom) audience, providing fans with an unparalleled viewing experience. We look forward to further enhancing our broadcasts and delivering even more thrilling racing moments from the GT Winter Series, GT4 Winter Series, Formula Winter Series, Prototype Winter Series and lets not forget our brand-new 6 Hour races in Portimão and Barcelona Catalunya.“
The continuance of the live-streaming partnership in 2025 also means the continuance of the cooperation with commentary and reporting talent:
Adam Weller (Commentary) has been commentating on racing events since he was 17 years old. During the summer months, Adam leads broadcasts for Ferrari Challenge, EuroNASCAR and the FIM Sidecar World Championship, and has previously featured in coverage of the Pau Grand Prix and ADAC GT Masters.
Isi Browning (Reporting) made her debut in 2023 as a reporter with the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Her natural and journalistic approach to her questions were noticed after that and she has since worked with Porsche Cup, Ginetta and the Winter Series by Gedlich Racing. This summer she also started as the F1 Kids, Sky F1 Lead Presenter.
Andy McEwan (Reporting & Commentary) has been commentator for the British GT Championship and TCR UK since 2018 and also worked as a Circuit commentator for the BTCC for a number of years. Andy made his debut at the Winter Series event in Barcelona-Catalunya in 2024 and will join the winter racing series for the first four rounds in 2025.
Andrew Mather (Reporting & Commentary), a new addition to the broadcasts. The motorsport enthusiast has made commentary on various FIA Karting Championships in the UK as well as the Ginetta G-Fest and Vertu Motors Mini Challenge Trophy. Andrew will join the Winter Series by Gedlich Racing for the last three rounds of the calendar in Aragón and Barcelona.
All parties dedication to excellence and passion for not only the services they provide but also to the world of motorsports, have allowed the Winter Series by Gedlich Racing to reach a broader audience, significantly expanding their fan base and bringing the events to the forefront of the motorsport community. All parties are eager to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in event broadcasting and are looking forward to the 2025 season.
All Winter Series races can be watched live on the Winter Series and/or Alpha Live Youtube Channel. For interviews, insights and more content regarding the Winter Series we recommend you to subscribe to the Winter Series YouTube channel and switch on the notifications to not miss any video or update!
The Winter Series reaches more and more fans every year, with livestream-viewers heading to almost half a million people throughout the 2024 season. More than 25.000 live spectators have watched the 230 drivers competing in the 56 races at 6 racing weekends in Portugal and Spain.
Your brand could reach this audience too!
For all sponsoring inquiries please contact sponsoring@winter-series.com
As GEDLICH Racing continues to work at pace to provide yet another fabulous season of racing at the start of 2025, the calendar for the upcoming Winter Series season can now be revealed. After a hugely successful 2024 season, the Winter Series calendar will once again feature the very best FIA-graded international racing circuits in Portugal and Spain.
Estoril will kick-off the calendar once more in 2025, from the 16th to 19th of January. Three series will kick-off at the famed former Grand Prix venue; the GT Winter Series, GT4 Winter Series and Prototype Winter Series.
A week later, from January 23-26, the same three championships will compete at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão. Both before and after this racing weekend, GEDLICH Racing will stage its revered Race Test days at the venue, allowing teams to extend their stay in the Algarve, and gain more critical mileage.
From January 30th until February 2nd, Gedlich’s first ever six-hour endurance race for GT machinery will take place at Portimão, as well as the season-opener for Formula Winter Series.
The Winter Series paddock will then cross the border into Spain, and head to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on February 13-16. With 10,000 fans in attendance in 2024, this weekend – featuring the GT, GT4 and Formula grids – promises to be one of the highlights of the calendar.
From Valencia, the paddock travels north to the spectacular Motorland Aragón. The GT Winter Series, Formula Winter Series, GT4 Winter Series and Prototype Winter Series will compete at the world-class facility near Alcañiz from February 27th until March 2nd.
The following weekend, March 6-9, the GT Winter Series, Prototype Winter Series and GT4 Winter Series season will conclude at the renowned Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya alongside the thrilling conclusion to the 2025 Formula Winter Series.
The winter season will conclude a week later from March 13-16, as yet another six-hour GT endurance race will be held.
The GEDLICH Racing Winter Series prides itself on accessibility for competitors and spectators alike. As with 2024, fan access to the circuits and live-streaming of the racing action on YouTube is planned. We look forward to welcoming fans, viewers and competitors back to the Winter Series from January 16th 2025!
Your contacts
Stefan Lehner
stefan@winter-series.com
+49 173 525 26 21
Robin Selbach
robin@winter-series.com
+49 173 585 22 44
Partners of the Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the GT Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the GT4 Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the Prototype Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the Formula Winter Series
