In the ESET Cup GT Sprint Championship, we were in third place in the GTX standings as we awaited the next round, so we traveled to Germany. At the last moment, we managed to put together a very tight budget, thanks to our new sponsors. I tried to repay their trust with two GTX podium finishes.
My championship season this year is running on two fronts simultaneously. On one hand, the GFS Racing Team has started transforming the car, which was originally built according to Lotus Cup Europe rules, to compete in the GT championships. On the other hand, I am learning the ropes of GT racing. So, it’s both a constructor’s job and a personal goal to win the ESET Cup GTX classification. Both tasks are incredibly challenging, the second almost impossible, but we won’t give up.
We don’t know exactly how much faster we’ve made the car, but it’s probably at least 6-7 seconds quicker on every track. With this, I’m running GT4 category times, and in some places, I’m even much faster, but I’m not evaluated in this category; I’m in the GTX. This is a broad group, and the lineup varies greatly depending on which cars enter. My main rival this year is a driver with a KTM GTX car, Petr Koukola. My car has 370 horsepower and 400 NM of torque, while the KTM can deliver 530 horsepower and 615 NM of torque. My car is light, but there’s still only a 48 kg difference. Clearly, I don’t stand a chance against him yet. But race by race, we’re getting closer.”
It brings me particular joy that we’re not the only ‘crazy’ ones; another team arrived at the German race with a Lotus Exige V6 Cup-R. They started their development from a different angle, and their engine is already much more powerful than ours, reportedly reaching 440 horsepower. This was evident in the straights. However, we have a better suspension setup and a better grasp of tire management, which is ‘thanks’ to our very low budget, as we can’t constantly throw on new 1700-euro tire sets.
Lausitzring was completely unfamiliar to me. I learned the track layout on the simulator and prepared for the weekend mainly by watching onboard cameras from DTM cars. However, it’s very different in real life. Driving through the banked corners was a very new experience, and the sheer scale of the track was impressive. I think I’ve added a new favorite track to my list. I really liked it.
Fortunately, aside from the two longer straights, the track layout was technical, so the differences weren’t too large. I was only 4-5 seconds behind the GT3 cars, which are at the top of the GT championship, and there was no question of being lapped during the races.
In addition to having a Lotus rival, a Pagani Zonda joined the KTM GTX. Since that car is just shy of 800 horsepower, I didn’t think we would have anything to do with it. Only if it retired from the race.
The qualifying session was split into two parts. Thanks to our new sponsors, we were finally able to put on new tires before qualifying. It paid off, as I set the third fastest time in the GTX category, which meant 13th overall. I beat the other Lotus by one-tenth of a second.
In the second qualifying session, I couldn’t put on new tires, but I didn’t slow down much. This time, I finished 14th, and unfortunately, Ronald Andraczek in the other Lotus caught me, beating me by one-tenth of a second.
In the first race, I started cautiously. I wanted to warm up the tires gradually; there’s no need to conquer the world in the first lap. This strategy paid off as I got faster with each lap and had a pretty intense battle with my Lotus rival. Unfortunately, we collided once. I’m not sure what exactly his problem was, but I saw his grip decreasing. At one point, he cut in front of me so quickly that I couldn’t avoid the collision. Fortunately, the car wasn’t significantly damaged.
In the second half of the race, I was running laps nearly 1.2 seconds faster than in qualifying. This allowed me to move up to 12th place overall and secure a podium finish in the GTX category. It’s clear that my car is still the weakest in the field, but our suspension setup is improving, and I managed the tires very well.
The second race was very similar to the first. We kept the tires from the first race and didn’t change any settings. Everything was fine with the car; I just had to replicate the first race.
The start was a bit shaky, and I fell back to 16th place with Andraczek pulling away from me. The main issue was getting stuck behind the GT4 cars. They weren’t very fast in the corners, but they pulled away on the straights. Eventually, I fought my way through and caught up with the other Lotus again.
I spent the second half of the race almost driving alone, but I didn’t mind. I secured third place in the GTX category again and managed to save the tires, as they’ll still be needed.
In both races, the KTM finished ahead of me, increasing its lead in the championship. With three weekends and six races remaining, the time is approaching for me to attack and overtake. Increasing performance is crucial for this, and the team is working on it. However, this is also an expensive investment, but the moment when the new engine is ready is getting closer. And then, I’ll attack.
Continuation at the beginning of August at the Most circuit in the Czech Republic!
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to race again!
Championship standings
