March 18, 2025 | 6h Barcelona
The ‘defending champions’ from GEDLICH’s 6H of Portimão in February would face stern competition, including the BDR by Grupoprom Mercedes of Alfredo Hernandez, Michael Dörrbecker and Amaury Bonduel. Additionally, the GT3 class would feature the Thai outfit Star Performance, with driving duties performed by Milos Pavlovic, Sandro Mur, Aniwat Lommahadthai and Sanporn Jao-Javanil.
However, all eyes were placed firmly on the Milwaukee-backed Razoon Porsche 992 GT3 R, which was put on pole position by Thomas Andersen And Simon Birch.
As the race got underway, the Rossocorsa Ferrari 296 Challenge of Niccolo Schiro moved up from fourth to the lead, using the superior straight-line speed of his car to pass the GT3s.
Razoon’s Thomas Andersen followed him through in second place. And, as the early stages of the race unfolded, Schiro built a lead at the front. Meanwhile, Andersen found himself fighting with fellow GT3 class entrant Aniwat Lommahadthai (Star Performance Lamborghini), as well as the CMR Lamborghini Super Trofeo of Stephane Lemeret.
Lemeret, the Belgian veteran, navigated himself into second place at the expense of the GT3s, leaving Andersen in third.
It was a difficult first hour for SR Motorsport in the GT4 class. Their #111 entry, a relatively late addition to the grid, pulled in after just two laps with engine problems. Meanwhile, the #11 Mercedes led the GT4 category early on with Kenneth Heyer at the wheel. The experienced German had a great fight with Daniel Drexel and Guillaume Aso, which Drexel came out on top of in the Razoon – more than racing Porsche Cayman.
Meanwhile, spent the rest of his stint fighting NM Racing Team’s Aso for second, and came out on top of the battle. However, on the car’s first visit to the refuelling area, the crew could not get fuel into the car, as the valve was blocked. This cost the team over a dozen laps.
The Razoon Porsche 992 GT3 R was the first front-running car into the pits, and Andersen handed his car over to Simon Birch.
Immediately, Birch began setting his signature searing pace. During the pitstop cycle, he moved into a comfortable lead. However, the second hour did not pass by without incident. The PCR Sport Mercedes GT4 of Josep Parera approached turn 14 slower than Birch anticipated, which resulted in Parera being hooked into a spin.
This triggered the first safety car of the race, and the #14 was given a drive-through penalty for its role in the collision.
Shortly thereafter, a second Safety Car would also be caused by issues for the #4 PCR Mercedes. Vicente Dasi returned the car to the circuit after it was recovered from the turn 14 gravel. It was significantly wounded, missing much of the rear bodywork, including the diffuser.
Unfortunately, Dasi compounded a tough race for the team, spinning at turn 7, and hitting the wall front-first. The driver was okay, however, the car would go no further.
The race entered a familiar pattern during the middle phase of the race, with Birch and Andersen putting themselves into a strong position just as they had at the 6H of Portimão in February. The Austrian team did not lead for much of the race, however, the team was working towards burning away the 35 minutes of pitstop time mandated in the race’s regulations; in reality, it was clear that the team’s net advantage was measured in laps rather than minutes by the end of the fourth hour. The 35 minutes in the pits had to be completed before the final half-hour began, and Razoon’s GT3 rivals would have to serve long final stops.
The battle for second overall was considerably less clear than the lead as Amaury Bonduel (BDR by Grupoprom Mercedes) entered the final hour just eight seconds ahead of Milos Pavlovic from Star Performance. Both drivers had served their final pitstops, and were fuelled to the finish. However, with less than half an hour to go, the heavens opened.
Initially, the rainfall as gradual, and teams were largely hesitant to move to wet tyres. Pavlovic was among the first to visit the pits for treaded rubber in the Lamborghini, and this looked like it may backfire in the following laps. Initially, Pavlovic was only two seconds per lap faster on the greasy track, and the laptimes between the Serbian and the slick-shod Bonduel were soon even as the rain briefly subsided.
However, the rain quickly returned with greater intensity. Bonduel peeled in for wet tyres, and returned to the track ten seconds behind Pavlovic. The Belgian soon began closing in the gap, however, time would ultimately run out for the #28 BDR by Grupoprom team.
At the front, Simon Birch was two laps clear, and eased off to greet the GT4 Razoon entry, which was on its route to an even more dominant victory within its class. It was a perfect photograph for the Austrian team, as Simon Birch took the overall win side-by-side with Denny Berndt in the GT4 winner.
Pavlovic held onto second overall by just three seconds, alongside Aniwat Lommahadthai, Sanporn Jao-Javanil and Sandro Mur. Bonduel, Michael Dörrbecker and Alfredo Hernandez were still happy with third position overall, while the Cup 4 CMR Lamborghini of Lemeret, Rodrigue Gillion and Wilfried Cazalbon came fourth.
The MTech Competition Porsche 992 GT3 Cup of Gustav Soderberg Krogh, Thomas Karlsson and Mattias Astrand has a quiet final hour of the race, taking fifth overall and winning the Cup 2 class. The Swedish team has been having a compelling battle with GP Elite’s Peter and Koen Munnichs. However, the father-and-son duo’s Porsche had a driveshaft problem late in the race.
Rossocorsa’s Ferrari 296 Challenge finished sixth overall, despite suspension issues just after half-distance.
Razoon – more than racing’s Gregor Schneider, Denny Berndt and Daniel Drexel performed flawlessly in the GT4 class, ultimately winning by five laps. Late in the race, second place changed hands, as the recovering #11 SR Motorsport Mercedes closed in on the #15 NM Racing entry. Guillaume Aso was passed by Jay Mo Härtling with just five minutes left on the clock.
During the team’s earlier refuelling issues, Härtling was acting as a mechanic, and was one of the first team members investigating the problem under the bootlid.
With a clean sweep of overall victories at GEDLICH Racing’s inaugural six-hour races at Portimão and Barcelona, Razoon – more than racing, Simon Birch and Thomas Andersen have once again proved themselves to be endurance specialists. For Birch, who has been taking his first steps in a GT3 car in the GEDLICH Racing paddock, the future looks particularly bright. The young Dane set the fastest-ever GT3 race lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during his last stint, a 1:40.695.
GEDLICH Racing’s 6H races have been a resounding success in 2025, and will be an eagerly-anticipated part of the Winter Series tour in 2026. Barcelona and Portimão will once again play host to six-hour endurance racing from the GEDLICH organisation, next year.