The GT Winter Series enters its fourth season, the GT4 Winter Series starts anew. Both feature the same calendar with six top FIA locations. In addition to racing, there are plenty of test days for preparation. Promoter Gedlich Racing strictly separates pure race tests for race preparation from track days.

Six FIA locations, Aragón back on the schedule
„The concept of the Winter Series hits the nerve of teams and drivers exactly,“ concludes Robin Selbach of Gedlich Racing. „The calendar and race modes will therefore remain virtually unchanged for the coming season.“ Back on the programme is the Motorland Aragón. Selbach: „It is one of the best tracks in Europe, super-modern and with optimum safety. Everything is just right here. That’s why, and due to many customer requests, we have included it in the 2023/2024 calendar.“

GT4 Winter Series starts
The GT4 Winter Series was recently announced. It is an officially SRO-licensed championship that runs under the international GT4 rules and carries the official GT4 logo. With Pirelli tyres and the official Balance of Performance, it is set to meet the professional demands of aspiring GT4 drivers and be a veritable championship for motorsport teams. It runs in the same event package as the GT Winter Series, which in future will only have GT3 cars and Cup and Challenge cars in the field.

Lots of test days just for racing cars
The Winter Series calendar offers more than just pure racing. In the run-up to each Winter Series weekend, there are two test days (called Race Test), which are reserved for Winter Series participants. In addition, Gedlich Racing offers 13 further Race Test days on the same tracks on which the Winter Series races – ideal for additional preparation time for the races, but also for all non-Winter Series racers. Common to all test days is a strictly limited number of cars for optimal testing conditions. In addition, only race cars in the GT4 category or higher are allowed to start. For road sports cars and trackday drivers, Gedlich Racing offers a separate calendar with „Endless Summer“.

Calendar is ready – reservations and bookings are being accepted
The calendar is already online and the dates can be booked. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Robin Selbach or Racing Coordinator Stefan Lehner at any time. Here you can make a reservation for the dates so that your starting place is secured. Alternatively, you can already register now.

Kickoff week
14/15 Dec 2023 Race Tests Portimao
16/17 Dec 2023 GTWS/GT4ws Portimao

Raceweek I
10 Jan 2024 Race Test Estoril (15 cars)
11/12 Jan 2024 Race Test Estoril
13/14 Jan 2023 GTWS/GT4ws Estoril
16/17 Jan 2024 Race Test Portimao
18/19 Jan 2024 Race Test Portimao

Raceweek II
02/03 Feb 2024 Race Test Portimao
04/05 Feb 2024 Race Test Portimao

08/09 Feb 2024 Race Test Jerez
10/11 Feb 2024 GTWS/GT4ws Jerez
15/16 Feb 2024 Race Test Valencia
17/18 Feb 2024 GTWS/GT4ws Valencia
26/27 Feb 2024 Race Test Valencia

Raceweek III
29/01 Mar 2024 Race Test Aragón
02/03 Mar 2024 GTWS/GT4ws Aragón
05/06 Mar 2024 Race Test Barcelona (tbc)
07/08 Mar 2024 Race Test Barcelona (tbc)
09/10 Mar 2024 GTWS/GT4ws Barcelona (tbc)

Robin Selbach
robin@gedlich-racing.com
+49 172 7220111

Stefan Lehner
stefan@gedlich-racing.com
+49 173 5252621

Huber Racing driver Johannes Kapfinger has been crowned GT Winter Series champion for the 2022/2023 season in a dramatic title decision in Barcelona. The top three of the championship come from three different classes.

The situation before the final rounds

Simon Connor Primm travelled to Barcelona as the leader of the standings. With his Mercedes-AMG GT4, Primm scored 112.46 points in the first five race weekends. This gave him an 11.71-point lead over Huber Racing ace Johannes Kapfinger. Only one point behind the Cup Porsche drivers were Andreas Greiling and Jens Richter, who dominate the Cup 3 class with their Porsche Cayman. Michael Kapfinger, Johannes‘ twin brother, also had a theoretical chance of winning the title.

In the first qualifying session of the season finale, in which 48 GT cars were entered, BMW works driver Dan Harper burned a superior best time into the Spanish asphalt. Michael Joos and Kenneth Heyer followed with a respectable gap of more than 1.5 seconds to the young Briton, who was at his most well-rested early on Sunday morning. Kenneth Heyer set the fastest time in the second qualifying segment ahead of Joos and Manuel Lauck in the Huber Racing GT3 Porsche, thus securing pole position for the second race round on Sunday afternoon.

Joos wins Sprint 1

Michael Joos wins the first GT Winter Series sprint race at the season finale in Barcelona. The Porsche 911 GT3 R driver quickly moved into the lead from second on the grid and left Schubert Motorsport driver Darren Leung standing with his BMW M4 GT3. Leung was quickly overtaken by his other GT3 rivals. Due to collisions in the large starting field, race director Werner Aichinger had to call the safety car onto the course twice, but even this did not upset Joos. It was the fourth win of the season in the GTWS for the experienced Porsche driver and team boss. Joos won in front of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenneth Heyer. Johannes Kapfinger drove to third overall in the Huber Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and, more importantly, the youngster won the Cup 2 class, further reducing the lead of championship leader Simon Connor Primm. The Mercedes driver only finished the race in fourth position in the GT4 class, which was won by Pavel Lefterov in the Overdrive Racing Porsche.

KTM show in the second sprint

The man of the second race was former ChampCar driver Ronnie Bremer from Denmark. Right at the start, Bremer stormed to the front in his KTM X-BOW GT2 from fifth position. No GT3 driver was able to stop the forward momentum of the car from Austria on the straight and Bremer literally flew past the competitors. Due to the concept, the GT3 aces were also unable to work their way past the KTM in the race. The car was slower in the corners, but was able to reach higher top speeds on the long straights of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which prevented the KTM from being overtaken. Second place went to AMG ace Kenneth Heyer, who was only 0.269 seconds ahead of Michael Joos after a late safety car restart.
Things got exciting in the title fight. Johannes Kapfinger had to start from the back of the field after he was stripped of laps in qualifying for track limit offences. The Huber Racing Porsche ploughed through the field in a 25-minute sprint to finish third in the Cup 2 class, which was won by his twin brother Michael Kapfinger ahead of Phoenix Racing driver Matteo Ferrer. But the race was not without problems for the CV Performance Mercedes-AMG GT4 either. Jan Philipp Springob, who contested the second race, found himself in tough duels and multiple battles with other GT4 cars throughout the race. A few laps before the end the shock came when the car with the starting number #85 was hit by a Cup Porsche in the turmoil and was forced into the gravel bed. Miraculously, the AMG survived the collision undamaged, but still lost a lot of time and could only finish the race in eighth place in class. Winning the GT4 class was Razoon driver Leo Pichler, in the first race outing for the team’s new Porsche.

Kapfinger takes title

All eyes were on the title decision at the Endurance race. Besides the two main protagonists Simon Connor Primm and Johannes Kapfinger, who were only separated by 0.99 points, the Cayman duo Andreas Greiling and Jens Richter still had outsider chances to win the title. Already in the first corner it became dramatic in the title fight. Simon Connor Primm had to leave the track and hit a sausage curb, causing damage to the front splitter. After the driver change, Jan Philipp Springob lost the splitter completely and had to park the AMG GT4 in the pits – the end for the championship leaders! This cleared the way for Johannes Kapfinger. Second place in the Cup 2 classification is enough for the reigning champion in the Open GT Class 40 of the Porsche Sports Cup Suisse to win the title in the GT Winter Series! With another superior class win in the Cup 3 class, even Greiling and Richter can still overtake Simon Connor Primm in the overall standings and thus enjoy second place in the championship. The disappointment, on the other hand, was written all over Primm’s face after the end of the race; winning the title had been the youngster’s big goal.

Huber Racing celebrates overall victory

Christoph Huber’s Porsche racing team was not only able to celebrate winning the title in the Endurance race, but also took the overall victory! After one hour of racing, the 911 GT3 R of the Bavarian team of Jörg Dreisow and GT3 ace Manuel Lauck was classified in first position. Although Michael Joos saw the chequered flag first, he received a 25-second time penalty for overtaking a car on the start-finish straight after the safety car phase had been called, causing him to slip to third position. Earlier, Joos and Lauck showed GT3 racing at its best in the battle for victory. Joos knocked on the rear of the Huber Porsche several times was able to push past his rival after a lap-long battle, but Michael Joos‘ hard work ultimately went unrewarded by the penalty. Kenneth Heyer finished second in the équipe vitesse Mercedes-AMG GT3.
In the Cup 2 class, as at the season opener in Portimao, the PTT Racing Porsche of Mateusz Lisoswski and Igor Klaja took the class win in the Endurance race. The Polish duo prevailed ahead of champion Johannes Kapfinger. ADAC GT4 Germany drivers Pavel Lefterov and Stefan Bostandjiev took a superior victory in the GT4 class in the Porsche of the Bulgarian Overdrive team.

Promoter very satisfied with season – amazing news for the next one

„Behind us lies a successful season,“ said GTWS project manager Robin Selbach. „We had starting fields that exceeded our expectations. On top of that, a title fight of three cars in the last race of the season – motorsport heart, what more do you want? But we don’t want to rest on our laurels and are already working hard on the 2023/2024 season. With the introduction of the new GT4 Winter Series, we have a new challenge ahead of us.“

The provisional race calendar for the 2023/2024 GT Winter Series season has already been finalised. The season will open in Portimao on 16 and 17 December.

Preliminary calendar 2023/2024

16/17 Dec 2023 Portimao/P
13/14 Jan 2024 Estoril/P
10/11 Feb 2024 Jerez/E
17/18 Feb 2024 Valencia/E
02/03 Mar 2024 Aragón/E
09/10 Mar 2024 Barcelona/E (tbc)

Who will be champion in the GT Winter Series? This decision will be settled by a total of 48 cars in the best weather at the season finale in Barcelona.

The season finale of the GT Winter Series will take place in Barcelona. A total of 48 GT cars will compete on the GP circuit in Spain. With temperatures of up to 26°C and bright sunshine, the 2022/2023 season of the GT Winter Series will bid farewell with the best external conditions.

At the event in Catalonia, the GT Winter Series will again be on the grid with a mixed field of young drivers, gentlemen drivers and seasoned professionals supporting the gentlemen.

Excitement in the title fight

CV Performance driver Simon Connor Primm travels to Barcelona as the leader of the standings. The Saxon has scored 112.46 points in his Mercedes-AMG GT4 so far. This gives him an 11.71-point lead over Huber Racing ace Johannes Kapfinger. Andreas Greiling and Jens Richter, who have dominated the Cup 3 class with their Cayman so far, are only one point behind the Cup Porsche drivers. Michael Kapfinger, who – just like his brother – drives a Cup Porsche from Huber Racing and currently has 87.17 points to his name, also has a theoretical chance of winning the championship.

Top-class GT3 field in Barcelona

Six GT3 cars will ensure a strong starting field in the top class at the season finale of the fourth GT Winter Series race year. Special attention will be paid to Darren Leung in the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, who recently won all three races in Navarra. In addition, Joos Sportwagentechnik returns to the series in Barcelona after the team had to skip the last two events. Michael Joos, who has won three sprint races so far in the 2022/2023 season, will use the team’s ADAC GT Masters car from last year in the GTWS for the first time. His customer Klaus Horn will also be driving an older Porsche 911 GT3 R. Huber Racing will also be fielding a Porsche. Jörg Dreisow and professional Manuel Lauck will steer the strikingly designed vehicle. The équipe vitesse, the team of the Herbst family, which is appreciated in the paddock of the GT Winter Series due to its Goodyear tyre service, brings an AMG GT3 to the start for Mercedes ace Kenneth Heyer.

17 cars set record in Cup 2 class

The Cup 2 class will be contested at the season finale in Barcelona with a record field of entrants. A total of 17 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars have been entered in the one-make cup class – a new record in the GT Winter Series! The class is led by the Kapfingers, who dominated the class in Navarra with their Huber Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and won all three races. It is worth noting that Michael Kapfinger, in contrast to his brother Johannes and many of his competitors, is driving an older 991.2 generation car, which is nominally somewhat slower. One should not forget the PTT Racing Porsche of the two Poles Igor Klaja and Mateusz Lisoswski, who won the Endurance race at the season opener in Portimao.
The class is rounded off by many teams returning to the season highlight in Barcelona after first starts during the season, or racing teams that are getting a taste of the GT Winter Series for the first time and evaluating a programme in the 2023/2024 season.

Top-class GT4 grid at the end of the season

With no less than twelve GT4 cars, the small GT category will also feature a large grid for the three rounds of racing. Championship leader Simon Connor Primm will again share a CV Mercedes with GT4 veteran Jan Philipp Springob. Christian Voß‘ team will enter a second GT4 car in Barcelona for youngster Fabio Rauer. Not far from the circuit is the home of the NM Racing team in Granollers, which has impressively proven in the GT4 European Series that it is one of the strongest GT4 teams in Europe. Alberto de Martin and Manel Lao pilot the Catalans‘ Mercedes, which lost the title in dramatic fashion in the SRO Championship season finale in October 2022. Also among the strongest continental GT4 teams is Allied-Racing. Jan Kasperlik’s Porsche team has won several titles at national and international level in recent years. Egor Litvinenko and Nathan Schaap drive the two Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in Barcelona. In Portimao, Senkyr Motorsport celebrated the global customer sport debut of the new BMW M4 GT4, and the Czech team returns to the GT Winter Series at the finale in Barcelona. Team owner Robert Senkyr and Richard Gonda form the BMW’s powerful driver duo.

Formula 1 and MotoGP circuit

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was opened in September 1991 and has been the venue for Formula 1 since then. Since 1996, MotoGP has also been a guest at the 4.657-kilometre permanent racetrack in Montmeló. Typical for the circuit are the long curves, which put a lot of strain on the tyres.

First race series on Formula 1 track variant

The GT Winter Series will be the first race series to use the old track configuration in the final sector. At the end of February, Formula 1 announced that it would no longer use the unpopular slow chicane and would instead use the two challenging downhill right-hand corners. This change is also being implemented by the GEDLICH Racing organisation for the GT Winter Series season finale, and it is expected that other race organisers will make the same decision.

Watch the races in the stream

The three final races of the GT Winter Series season will take place on Sunday 12 March. The two sprint races will start at 11 a.m. and 2.10 p.m., and the endurance race will conclude the exciting GT Winter Series season at 4.50 p.m.. Before that, the race day will open with a two-part qualifying session. Both races can be followed around the world via livestream so that fans don’t miss the unpredictable championship decision.

Interested fans can follow the GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series rounds from Barcelona via livestream.

Fans of the GT Winter Series and the Formula Winter Series will be able to follow a total of five races from Barcelona via livestream. The racing series will broadcast all the races live via YouTube on 12th March. The broadcast will begin at 10:30.

Lukas Gajewski will be the presenter and will welcome exciting interview guests at his microphone. As commentator, Adam Weller from Great Britain, who is known for the ADAC GT Masters and the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, among other things, will follow the races.

 

Exciting background reports

Between the races, there will be exciting features about the background of the championships. There will also be interesting interviews and presentations of series partners.

Livestream times:

10:30 – Start broadcast
11:00 – GT Winter Series Race 1
11:45 – Formula Winter Series Race 1
14:10 – GT Winter Series Race 2
14:55 – Formula Winter Series Race 2
16:50 – GT Winter Series Endurance Race

Livestream link:

https://www.youtube.com/@gedlichracinggmbh6369/streams

The debut of the GT Winter Series in Navarra went perfectly for Schubert Motorsport. The racing team from Oschersleben dominated the race day at will. Meanwhile, the GT4 class once again thrilled the spectators with hard-fought races, which were, however, conducted fairly at all times.

Schubert Motorsport wins the first race

As expected, the GT3 cars battled it out for victory in the first round in Navarra, but the fast Cup Porsches were not to be shaken off on the winding course in northern Spain.
Darren Leung won the first race in the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. This was the first triumph in the GT Winter Series for the driver, the team from Oschersleben and the race car. The GT3 veteran started from pole position, but was never able to break away from the field and showed a thrilling battle with Jean Glorieux in the PROsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and Michael Kampfinger, who delivered a sensational race in the 991.2 generation Cup Porsche. At the safety car restart two laps before the end of the race, Kapfinger even managed to overtake the Belgian Glorieux in the nominally faster GT3 Aston Martin and thus finished the race in second place.

High tension in GT4 Class

In the first sprint race, the GT4 class again thrilled the spectators with tough duels, which, however, were always fought fairly. Jan Philipp Springob won the race in the CV Performance Group Mercedes-AMG GT4 after he managed to beat Mike David Ortmann in the PROsport Aston Martin at the safety car restart. In the first half of the race, the two GT4 pros showed a highly exciting duel bumper to bumper. The reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champion Ortmann was also clipped by his teammate Gabriela Jilkova and only finished the race in third class position.

Darren Leung repeats sprint win

KTM driver Thomas Andersen took up the second sprint race early on Sunday afternoon from the best starting position after the Dane surprisingly set the fastest lap in the morning qualifying. But Andersen didn’t keep the place in the sun for long with his X-BOW GT2, as Darren Leung snatched the Scandinavian right on the starting lap and took his second race win with his BMW M4 GT3. At the end of the race distance, the car of the team from Oschersleben had a lead of around five seconds over the KTM.

Tough battle for the final podium position

Behind the top two cars, a three-way battle raged for the final podium position. The two Kapfinger brothers in their Huber Racing Cup Porsche and Belgian Maxime Dumarey in PROsport Racing’s GT3 Aston Martin were involved. After Dumarey lost a few positions in the starting phase, the Aston Martin veteran had to fight his way past the two talented brothers. Only after more than 20 minutes did the GT3 driver find a way past the sensationally fighting Johannes Kapfinger and was thus able to finish the race in third position. Johannes was able to win the internal duel of the Kapfinger family and beat his brother Michael in fourth place.
In the GT4 class, CV Performance took another victory. Simon Connor Primm won the second sprint race on the course in northern Spain in superior fashion.

Endurance win completes perfect race day for Schubert Motorsport

In the Endurance race late on Sunday afternoon, newly appointed BMW works driver Dan Harper took to the wheel of Torsten Schubert’s M4 GT3. With seven-mile boots on, the 22-year-old Briton pulled away from the field before handing the car over to Darren Leung, whose coach Harper was at the Navarra race weekend. Leung was able to defend the comfortable lead and finally drove relaxed to his third victory of the race day. The race day could not have gone better for the driver and his experienced BMW team.
As in the second sprint race, the KTM X-BOW GT2 of Thomas Andersen and Ronnie Bremer finished in second position. After the driver change, former ChampCar driver Bremer showed his quality and reduced the gap to the BMW by over 20 seconds – a strong performance by the KTM duo in Navarra!

Huber Racing youngsters can convince again

The Kapfinger brothers also once again impressively underlined their dominance in the Cup 2 class on the race track near the town of Los Arcos. The two colourful 911 GT3 Cup cars finished third and fourth in the overall standings, which is tantamount to a superior double victory in the Cup 2 class. As in the first sprint race, Michael defeated his brother Johannes in the nominally weaker car. In the Endurance race, both shared their car with Dieter Svepes. With their fabulous performance throughout the race weekend, both once again underlined their progress in the current GT Winter Series season and were able to impressively demonstrate their talent. It is certain that we will continue to hear a lot from them in the future!

GT4 cars fight bumper to bumper

During the first half of the race in the Endurance heat, the top 3 in the GT4 class battled wheel to wheel. Mike David Ortmann led the hard-fought class ahead of his Czech teammate Gabriela Jilkova and CV Performance driver Simon Connor Primm. The numerous spectators on the pit roof were so enthralled by the GT4 show that they ran from one side of the pit roof to the other so they wouldn’t miss a moment of the action!
During the driver change, Jan Philipp Springob secured the lead in the small GT class and drove to a controlled class win in the AMG bolide of Christian Voß‘ team. Second place went to Jilkova and her partner Jessica Bäckman, for the Swede it was a great debut in a GT4 racer, having previously raced in touring cars.

Primm new leader of the standings

The CV Performance AMG’s three class wins have put Simon Connor Primm at the top of the GT Winter Series standings. Whether the youngster will clinch the title will be decided next week at the big season finale on the world-famous Formula 1 circuit in Barcelona.
Manthey driver Dustin Blattner also has a good chance of winning the title. The driver competing under a US licence had to end his programme in the GT Winter Series after the event in Valencia, but due to five strike results he still has a good chance of winning the title.
The thrilling decision for the title, in which around 45 cars will be on the grid, will be followed by fans worldwide via livestream.

The GT Winter Series will complete its semi-final round of the 2022/2023 season at the circuit in Navarra, with around 25 GT cars competing in the penultimate event of the season.

Premiere in the GT Winter Series. In the fourth year of the championship, the GT racing series is making its first guest appearance in Navarra. The championship, organised by GEDLICH Racing, will once again bring a spectacular field of GT3, GT4 and Cup cars to the starting line in Los Arcos.

In the championship, Manthey driver Dustin Blattner has the lead. But after the event in Valencia, the driver competing under a US licence had to end his season. Blattner will now keep his fingers crossed from home that he can still win the GT Winter Series title with the five strike results. In second position is GT4 driver Simon Connor Primm. Primm, who drives a CV Performance Group Mercedes-AMG GT4, is 7.4 points behind Blattner. Andreas Greiling and Jens Richter, who are dominating the season with their Porsche Cayman in the Cup 3 class, are in third championship position.

At the event in northern Spain, the GT Winter Series will once again compete with a mixed starting field of young drivers, gentleman drivers and seasoned professionals supporting the gentlemen, ensuring the special partnership environment of the GT Winter Series.

GT3 drivers set for victory

The GT3 cars will probably fight for the overall victory in Navarra, although the drivers should not ignore the fast Cup Porsches. At the last event in Valencia, the reigning DTM champion team Schubert Motorsport made its debut in the GT Winter Series. Torsten Schubert’s racing team brought a BMW M4 GT3 to the start for Darren Leung. The experienced GT3 driver was able to finish on the podium against strong competition. The same goes for the PROsport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Maxime Dumarey and Jean Glorieux. At the event in Navarra, the two cars will be fighting for the top results with the Die Biermacher Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 of Uwe Lauer and his coach Francesco Lopez.

Is it now the Kapfingers‘ hour in Cup 2?

In the Porsche Carrera Cup class, the Kapfingers were able to improve more and more over the course of the season. The two brothers use the GT Winter Series for personal advancement in their motorsport careers and as a perfect training platform for young talent. In the course of the season so far, they have been able to beat championship leader Blattner on the track time and again and have impressed the paddock with their improved performance. Michael Kapfinger in particular knew how to surprise time and again when he was able to keep up with and beat the current models with the 991.2 generation Cup Porsche.
The PTT Racing car will also be a force to be reckoned with in Navarra. Igor Klaja and Mateusz Lisowski won the highly competitive class at the season opener in Portimao.
In addition, the fifth event of the season will see exciting newcomers in the Cup 2 class who are looking to get a taste of the GT Winter Series and are considering contesting the full season in the championship in 2023/2024.

CV Performance Group vs. PROsport Racing in GT4

In the GT4 class, exciting battles are again expected between the CV Performance Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Simon Connor Primm and Jan Philipp Springob and the three PROsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4s for the class win. Reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champion Mike David Ortmann will again share a car with Düsseldorf-based Ukrainian entrepreneur Yevgen Sokolovskiy. Czech Gabriela Jilkova, who was GT Winter Series champion in the 2020/2021 season, will have a new teammate at her side: Sweden’s Jessica Bäckman, who was runner-up in the ADAC TCR Germany in 2022, will be active in GT4 racing for the first time. With the experienced Aston Martin team and Jilkova as her teammate, she is in a perfect position to learn a lot on the race weekend.

Modern race track

The Circuito de Navarra in Los Arcos was completed in June 2010. The track is 3,933 metres long and the longest straight measures 800 metres. The slightly hilly track with six left-hand and nine right-hand corners is mainly used for car races, such as the GT1 World Championship and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, as well as the Superleague Formula. Due to the FIA Grade 1T track licence, Formula 1 test runs are also likely to take place on the circuit.

At 12:10 and 14:25 on 5th March, the two GT Winter Series sprint races will take place at the Circuito de Navarra. At 16:45, the race day will conclude with the one-hour Endurance race. Sunday will be heralded by a two-part qualifying session. On the practice day, the pilots can get to know the circuit very well during extensive test drives.

The season finale of the GT Winter Series and the Formula Winter Series in Barcelona will use the track variant that will be used in Formula 1 for the first time since 2006.

Short-term change for the season finale of the Winter Series racing series from March 10 to 12 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: After Formula 1 announced that it will use the old track layout in the final sector again, the Formula Winter Series and the GT Winter Series will follow the change and will also use the two fast right-hand corners. The two challenging downhill corners will be replaced by a slow chicane, which has not been met with much enthusiasm by drivers and fans. It can be assumed that many other racing series will follow this change from the Formula 1.

Project manager Robin Selbach: „Our Formula 4 drivers want to use the Formula Winter Series as a stepping stone towards Formula 1 and its frame series. To do this, we want to give them the perfect opportunity to learn, and that’s why we’ll be driving on the Formula 1 version of the track at our finale in Barcelona, after the latter announced the change at short notice. We will also use the modified track variant in the GT Winter Series.“

This year’s season is still in full swing and there is still almost a year to go before the GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series start their next sunny winter. Nevertheless, promoter Gedlich Racing already announces a preliminary calendar that is not so preliminary at all.

Calendar is similar to this year’s
„Our goal is to be able to offer approximately the same calendar every season. That way, teams and drivers can prepare early and plan their winter racing season,“ says Robin Selbach of Gedlich Racing. And so the calendar for 2023/2024 is almost like the one for this season. Only one new track is included in the program.

Now two racing days
The biggest difference is that the new season will feature two racing days per event. While this season the entire schedule took place on Sunday, qualifying and racing will then be spread over two days. This will loosen up the schedule and make room for more race series, which are still waiting to be announced.

Aragón back on the program
Back on the schedule is Motorland Aragón. This ultra-modern track was not only built by Hermann Tilke and is one of the most modern facilities in the world, but is also home to the Moto GP. The latest safety standards, 5.7 km in length and fabulous track layout ensure exciting races in a professional environment. The GTWS already raced there in the Corona year 2021.

GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series
Also on board, in addition to the GT Winter Series, which includes various classes of GT Sports, is once again the Formula Winter Series. „There will be details of the innovations for this shortly,“ says Selbach, „including the number of races, classes and staging modes.“

Calendar already almost fixed, enrollment or reservation possible
Gedlich Racing can already name a preliminary calendar, where almost all locations are fixed. Only the final confirmation of Barcelona is still pending.

For questions or feedback, teams are welcome to contact Robin Selbach or GTWS race series coordinator Stefan Lehner at any time. Here you can pre-register for the race series, so that your starting place is secured. Alternatively, you can already register now.

Robin Selbach
robin@gt-winter-series.com
+49 172 7220111

Stefan Lehner
stefan@gt-winter-series.com
+49 173 5252621

Preliminary calendar 2023/2024
16/17 Dec 2023 Portimao/P
13/14 Jan 2024 Estoril/P
10/11 Feb 2024 Jerez/E
17/18 Feb 2024 Valencia/E
02/03 Mar 2024 Aragón/E
09/10 Mar 2024 Barcelona/E (tbc)

Team Joos Sportwagentechnik is stocking up for the GT Winter Series event and will bring the Porsche 911 GT3 R to the grid that the team entered in the ADAC GT Masters in 2022.

At the Formula 1 circuit in Barcelona, Team Joos Sportwagentechnik is stocking up its line-up in the GT Winter Series. The Porsche racing team, which relocated to Vöhringen a few months ago, will also field the 911 GT3 R with which Christian Engelhart and Ayhancan Güven successfully contested the 2022 ADAC GT Masters season. The duo finished the racing year in second position in the overall standings.

The car will be driven at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona by team owner Michael Joos, who is a successful racing driver himself. At the wheel of an older GT3 Porsche, he has already scored several victories in the current GT Winter Series season. Joos won both sprint races at the season opener in Portimao and won the first sprint race in Jerez by less than 0.3 seconds after a tough duel with official Audi driver Luca Engstler.

Another 911 GT3 R for Klaus Horn

The three-time season winner will pilot the car as a soloist. „I’m really looking forward to the event in Barcelona. I want to take more wins with our ADAC GT Masters car from last year. I know that the competition will be tough, but this motivates me even more,“ says the team boss and driver in personal union.

Team Joos Sportwagentechnik is also fielding another Porsche 911 GT3 R on the well-known circuit, where the fourth season in the history of the GT Winter Series comes to its crowning conclusion. Customer driver Klaus Horn, with whom Michael Joos contested the first three race weekends, will drive his older GT3 bolide from Porsche.

Luca Engstler and Dylan Yip took the first ever Audi GT3 victories for Liqui Moly Team Engstler, while Michael Fischer of 78Racing-Team was also able to claim an overall victory, as the GT Winter Series made its inaugural visit to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
A field of 43 took to the circuit on race day, with many of GT racing’s top teams sharing the paddock. Dustin Blattner of Porsche Racing Experience by Manthey came into the event as championship leader, thanks to his impressive efforts in the Cup 2 class for Porsche Cup machinery.

Race One: Engslter rules the roost

As anticipated, the GT3 and ‘catch-all’ Cup X classes were the fastest cars on circuit in Valencia.
The first of two 25-minute sprints turned into something of an exhibition for ADAC TCR Germany champion Luca Engstler, especially because some of his main competition in the GT3 class struggled in qualifying. While his family team is new to running the Audi R8 LMS GT3, Luca himself has a season of experience under his belt, which he used to claim a commanding victory from pole. The race was shortened by a red flag less than five minutes from the finish, but the German racer had already built a 36-second advantage.

Trouble for Sartingen, Petrov seals second

The red flag was brought out owing to a collision between Axel Sartingen’s Schnitzelalm Mercedes GT3 car and the #54 Rossocorsa Ferrari at Turn 8. Sartingen was second overall at the time, and fighting hard with VSR Lamborghini’s Artem Petrov, who would ultimately inherit that position and take the win in Cup X. Petrov’s performance in the Super Trofeo-spec car impressed many.
Andrzej Lewandowski rounded out the overall podium in his Cup X Lamborghini, ahead of Tom Fleming, who once again ruffled the feathers of faster cars on his way to the Cup 1 win in his FF Corse Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo.
Johannes Kapfinger (Huber Racing) took the Cup 2 victory, just tenths clear of Dustin Blattner. GT4 honours went to Gabriela Jilkova of PROSport racing, who was a step ahead of the competition in her Aston Martin, while Cup 3 honours were secured by Andreas Greiling of MS Racing.

Race Two: Fischer holds off Heyer for an overall victory

Schnitzelalm Racing worked hard to repair their GT3 Mercedes for race two, and Kenenth Heyer was no doubt relieved, as he had the opportunity to start on the front row. Jean Glorieux’s PROsport-entered GT3 Aston Martin would be just ahead of him on Pole Position.
However, as the race began, Glorieux would be swallowed by the field, and 78Racing-Team’s Michael Fischer sped into the lead in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3. As the car was entered into Cup X, it ran without restrictors, and that was most evident on the start/finish straight.
The race would end at the first corner for Dylan Yip of Team Engstler, as he ended up in the gravel. The resulting accordion effect also caused damage to both of Huber Racing’s Cup 2 Porsche entries, which also retired.

Heyer almost makes Fischer the catch of the day

When racing resumed after a Safety Car, Fischer would pull away from Gilles Stadsbader (VSR Lamborghini), who had inherited second place. Since Stadsbader’s Huracan Super Trofeo was quick in a straight line, it proved tricky to pass. Once Kenneth Heyer finally found a way by, Fischer was the better part of five seconds clear.
Over the next several laps, Heyer continued lowering the deficit. And while the gap would shrink to less than a second, he was unable to pass Fischer, who took the overall and Cup X win. Heyer would take the GT3 class win in second overall, while Darren Leung brought home his Schubert BMW M4 GT3 third overall, after a well-executed pass on Stadsbader at turn 12.
Tom Fleming topped the Cup 1 ranks again, finishing eighth overall, just ahead of Cup 2’s winner, historic racing ace Matteo Ferrer (Phoenix Racing). In GT4, Jan-Philipp Springob of CV Performance Group had a great duel with Nico Verdonck (PROSport Aston Martin), eventually winning the class by less than a second. Cup 3 Honours went to 2022 GT Winter Series champion Michael Sander and Schnitzelalm Racing.

Endurance Race: Engstler’s rookie brings it home

As the 60-minute endurance race began, Luca Engstler made his race strategy clear; take the lead by any means necessary, and run away from the pack. He achieved this exact feat from his second place starting position, passing pole-sitter Axel Sartingen around the outside into the first corner.
As had been the case in the first race, Engstler would disappear into the distance. Meanwhile, GT3 class runners such as Sartingen, Maxime Dumarey (PROSport), and Darren Leung would become entangled with Cup X Lamborghini Super Trofeo entries, which had a significant straight-line speed advantage.

Pitstop penalties hinder several

In the middle portion of the race, the order would be shuffled repeatedly as the teams made their mandatory pitstops. And, once all of the stops were made, it became clear that Kenneth Heyer of Schnitzelalm Racing would be the biggest rival to Dylan Yip, who had taken over the leading Engstler Audi.
A 30-second gap would soon shrink to less than a dozen, however, Heyer’s aspirations of a winning move were soon halted by a stop-go penalty. His team and several others were judged to have had a pitstop below the minimum time, and thus, sixth place was the final result for he and Sartingen.
This would allow Yip to cross the line victorious in just his second weekend racing a car, with the Petrov/Stadsbader VSR Lamborghini and M.Dumarey/Glorieux PROSport Aston Martin completing the podium.
The Cup 2 win would also be affected by penalties, as a drive-through for Dustin Blattner (PRE by Manthey) allowed Dieter Svepes to bring the #33 Huber Racing entry home unchallenged for he and Johannes Kapfinger.

(Over)take two for Jilkova

GT4 would see Gabriela Jilkova pass her PROSport Aston Martin stablemate Guido Dumarey twice for second place in GT4, also because of a penalty in the closing stages. CV Performance Group’s Springob and Primm were once again the class of the GT4 field, taking a comfortable win.
Tom Fleming would complete a sweep of the Cup 1 honours for FF Corse Ferrari, and a late overtake from Moritz Kranz secured victory for KKramer Racing in Cup 3.

Engstler eager to race and Blattner home early

Luca Engstler is one of just a few members of his family’s team with prior knowledge of the Audi R8 LMS GT3. And, with their two weekend GT Winter series programme complete, he reflected on the team’s progress: “I am [the experienced man]!” he said. “It’s kind of bad because I still feel I don’t have that much experience with these cars. Last year I only did a few races in ADAC and one on the Nordschleife. But, we’ve made great progress, and we are discovering more and more. We are open-minded, and there’s a great crew around us. The goal for the future is to become one of the best GT3 teams.”
He added: “I am pushing to be here again next year! It’s better to be here than at home or in the fitness centre, I want to race!”
Sadly, Dustin Blattner’s GT Winter Series campaign is also at it’s end, despite still being the championship leader: “Unfortunately I am only doing the first four events, but I hope to do the full season next year. It’s a great series to keep your skills fresh, and it’s awesome to race with the different classes, which was new to myself.”

Navarra up next

The next GT Winter series event takes place on March 4-5 at the Navarra Circuit.