I spent the last two years competing in the Clio Cup Europe championship. I couldn’t run the full season, and in 2022 and 2023, I participated in two race weekends out of the 14. The championship has changed for this year, with races being much farther away and the maintenance of the car becoming more expensive. So, we started looking in a different direction, and I believe we made the right decision. I will be competing in the FIA Central European Cup among the big players, in the GT category.
The Background
Clio Cup Europe
I still believe that this is the toughest and most challenging one-make cup in Europe. With over 50 participants and the top 20-25 drivers within a second of each other.
I achieved promising results, finishing fifth at the Red Bull Ring and securing a trophy at home, at the Hungaroring. There wasn’t much more than that without any testing or preparation. To compete in such a close championship, a full year is needed, with preseason tests, and then I could have fought for the championship title. But for that, I would need to put together a budget of at least 100,000 euros, and as you know, there’s no chance of that happening on my own.
During the winter, we were still considering how to return to racing, but then we heard the news that the cars were being modified, receiving a facelift, which made the cars more expensive. That wasn’t the biggest issue, though; the calendar also changed. The closest race would have been at Monza, with all the other races taking place in the western part of Europe. Because of this, we gave up on our dreams of competing in the Clio Cup Europe, as the costs increased dramatically, and without a full-year budget, it would be impossible for me to compete in the first few races.
A late-season entry with the Lotus Exige V6 Cup R
At the end of last year, Hungary’s newest racing circuit, the Balaton Park Circuit, was inaugurated. I formed a positive opinion about the track, especially considering the quality of the facilities. However, what was more important to me was finally getting behind the wheel of one of GFS Racing’s GT cars, a Lotus Exige V6 Cup-R race car, which they used in the Lotus Cup Europe championship.
The Lotus was in cup configuration, meaning I raced with semi-slick tires, which was a significant disadvantage compared to full slick tires. Nevertheless, I managed to find the pace and even chased down a cup-spec Porsche from 2022 in the races, which is in a different league.
Fight with a TCR car and Porsche
Evolution of Car
The Lotus in its current form is close to being able to compete with GT4 homologated cars, but defeating these cars with semi-slick tires is not possible. Similarly, full slick tires cannot be fitted as the car was not designed for them. Therefore, a stronger suspension is needed as the cornering speed will increase. The higher cornering speed will also result in a higher top speed, so the braking system needs to be strengthened, and their cooling improved. The increased cornering speed may also pose an issue with oil pressure, so improvements need to be made in this area as well. The team is also working on reducing weight, and wherever possible, carbon will be used, as weight reduction is the best tuning for a race car.
The entire process sets off a domino effect, as we need to go through everything before hitting the track.
Weight reduction
FIA CEZ GT Sprint
This is the FIA-approved Central European Cup, which has several categories. I am competing in the largest category, the GT Sprint championship. Each weekend consists of two qualifying sessions and two separate sprint races, each with its own classification. The races can be followed live on video streaming platforms, and highlights can be viewed on Eurosport.
The field is divided into two main groups. One group consists of teams racing with GT3 cars, which we won’t be able to match pace with. The other group is the GT4 class. These cars will be closer, and I believe that if the car development goes as we hope, I may even be competitive against them. My category will be the GTX class, which includes cars that are not current GT3 or GT4 vehicles. It’s a more open category where it will be very difficult to excel, but I hope to be able to fight for the championship podium.
Based on the previous year, the following types of cars could be in the GTX category:
Season 2024
Currently, the car development is ongoing at the GFS Racing Team workshop. Moreover, a second car is being built simultaneously, so it’s likely that I will have a teammate during the season. The pace of the car will be revealed during the first test, and according to our calculations, we need to improve by 2-3 seconds, for example, at the Hungaroring, to have a meaningful impact on the podium positions.
Our budget is slowly coming together, thanks to the support of Spurishop.hu, Spuri Adalékanyag, Miroil, Mabanol, Bedooo.com, my family, and of course, the GFS Racing Team. The number of our partners is also increasing, with more and more people standing behind me.
We also rely on community donations because I would be lying if I said that everything is going smoothly. It’s not at all. But I’m only looking ahead and hoping that we will complete the season.
The 2024 race calendar
April 27–28 – Balaton Park – Hungary
May 18–19 – Red Bull Ring – Austria
June 15–16 – Hungaroring – Hungary
June 28–29 – Lausitzring – Germany
August 03–04 – Most – Czech Republic
August 24–25 – Slovakia Ring – Slovakia
September 07–08 – Brno – Czech Republic