Challenging weekend across three racing series at Monza for razoon
razoon – more than racing enjoyed an eventful weekend at Monza, where the team was the only one to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe, the GT4 European Series and the GT2 European Series.
GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup:
In the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, razoon – more than racing fielded a Porsche 911 GT3 R. The three GT3 rookies, Georgios Kolovos, Stelios Kolovos and Lenny Ried, took turns at the wheel of the car. The aim was for them to drive a consistent race and gain as much experience as possible.
Around the halfway point of the race, Stelios Kolovos spun off the track at the first Lesmo corner, causing the Porsche to lose its diffuser. Kolovos managed to bring the car back to the pits, where the team repaired it within a few minutes and got it back on the track. The #914 Porsche finished 15th in the Bronze Cup.
“It was a great honour for us that Christian Ried – Lenny’s father – one of Germany’s most renowned team principals, had been watching from our pit throughout the entire race weekend; this shows us that we are delivering high-quality work,” said Dominik Olbert. “We don’t blame Stelios for the slip-up; things like that can happen in a first GT3 race, especially in such a chaotic race as at Monza. It was important that all three drivers were able to get plenty of track time.”
GT4 European Series:
In the GT4 European Series, the team fielded two BMW M4 GT4s and aimed to build on their strong season opener at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. In the first race, the Eggersdorf-based team secured two strong results in the Pro-Am Cup. Gustavo Xavier and Önder Erdem finished fifth in class, one position ahead of the sister car driven by Dominik Drexel and Chris Salkeld. Drexel and Salkeld staged an impressive comeback from 17th on the grid.
The Austrian-British duo also secured vital championship points in Sunday’s race. Finishing eighth in class, the two drivers picked up further strong points. Gustavo Xavier and Önder Erdem failed to score any points in a chaotic race.
GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli:
The Austrian team’s major campaign was rounded off by a KTM X-BOW GT2 in the GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, driven by team owner Dominik Olbert and Önder Erdem. In the first qualifying session, Olbert was the fastest KTM, securing a strong tenth place.
In the second qualifying session, however, Erdem was involved in a heavy crash. The car was so badly damaged in the accident that it could not be repaired on site and was therefore unable to take part in the first race. The team subsequently brought a replacement car to the track and, after a lot of hard work, took part in the second race. After spinning, the duo finished the race in eighth place in the Masters class.
“Many thanks to the whole team for their incredible effort over the weekend and for organising the replacement car. For us, it was the most extensive race weekend to date at such a high level,” said team boss Dominik Olbert. “In the GT4 European Series, we were able to score further important points and defend our strong position in the championship. Unfortunately, in both the GT World Challenge Europe and the GT2 European Series, the results do not reflect our hard work. But we have learnt a lot and know where we need to focus our efforts now.”