“It was an interesting weekend for us, full of twists and turns,” reflects Tomáš Fanta, Executive Director of RTR projects, looking back on the team’s first home appearance of the season. With the Jaroslav Honzík–Viktor Mráz pairing, the team not only secured its second consecutive GTX class victory, but also its second successive overall podium. They finished third in the three-hour race at Slovakia Ring in June. “They drove brilliantly,” Fanta says, praising his drivers for their performance at Most.
The road to another endurance success was far from straightforward for RTR projects. Although Mráz and Honzík qualified their KTM X-Bow GTX on pole in class and fourth overall, they were ultimately forced to start Saturday’s one-hour race from the pit lane. For Jaroslav Honzík, who took the start, however, this was no obstacle. Instead, he saw the situation as a challenge.
“The task was clear – push hard as soon as we left the pit lane,” says Honzík, who enjoyed the Most event more than any of the races he has contested this season. “I was highly motivated. On the very first lap, I had a great battle with Dan Skalický and managed to overtake him through the Orlen corner. From there, it was simply a case of working my way further up the field. It was great – I overtook around 10 cars. We spent about five or six laps battling with a Lamborghini,” says Honzík, who handed the car over to Viktor Mráz in fifth place overall. More importantly, however, they were already leading the GTX class.
Mráz then brought the crew’s charge to a successful conclusion. The Slovak driver, who currently sits second in the Masters standings in the GT2 European Series, not only maintained the lead in class but also moved up to second overall. He emerged from the pit lane already in third place in his KTM. The silverware was then secured following an accident involving the Timo Scheibner–Jürgen Alzen pairing in a BMW M4 GT3. The crash occurred around 15 minutes before the finish and brought the race to a premature end.
“It’s a shame about the red flags – Viktor only got to do a few laps because of them,” Honzík said, disappointed by the circumstances in which the race ended. That did little to dampen his satisfaction with the result, however. “We’re really pleased with a result like this. It was an absolutely brilliant weekend,” he said.
As has become customary, Honzík and Mráz streamed the race live on the former’s YouTube channel, using a camera mounted on the helmet. “It’s something nobody else does. We show the entire pre-race preparation, as well as details from the car, our setup, the emotions with the team and mechanics, and much more,” says Honzík. This time, however, viewers missed the final minutes. “Our battery died shortly before the end,” explains the Czech driver. The podium celebrations were streamed live again, though. “The red flag actually helped us. It gave us the chance to bring out the broadcast camera,” he adds.
RTR projects had a double entry in the Most endurance race. Tomáš Miniberger and Daniel Skalický shared the wheel of the KTM X-Bow GT2. The experienced pairing secured third place in the GTX class and finished sixth overall.
“It was a successful race for them,” says Tomáš Fanta, highlighting the performance of the Miniberger–Skalický pairing. “Both drivers had been out of the race car for a long time, so they had to find their rhythm in just two practice sessions. They managed to do exactly that,” he points out.
The RTR projects team enjoyed the Most weekend not only because of its successful endurance outing, but also thanks to the atmosphere created by the local fans. “The fans were fantastic. There were so many of them. I’d like to praise them all, as well as the organisers. I was pleasantly surprised by how much interest the fans showed in our cars and drivers,” says Fanta.
RTR projects had originally entered both sprint races at Most, but ultimately decided not to take part. “We were prepared for the sprint races. However, Saturday’s track was wet, which would have posed a considerable risk ahead of the endurance race, which is our priority this season. We therefore decided to sit out the sprints,” explains Tomáš Fanta.
This year’s GT Cup Series season will continue from 21–23 August. The Central European series will return to Slovakia Ring for the second time this season. Home driver Viktor Mráz and his teammate Jaroslav Honzík will arrive in Orechová Potôň in a strong position. Following their second consecutive GTX endurance victory, the pairing now holds a 37-point lead in the class standings. Tomáš Miniberger and Daniel Skalický currently sit third.
