“We came away with a strong haul of championship points, so we’re very pleased with the outcome,” said RTR projects Managing Director Tomáš Fanta, reflecting on the Italian race weekend. He was keen to praise the entire team, particularly given the exceptionally demanding conditions they faced at Misano. “Our drivers, mechanics and engineers all delivered an outstanding performance, and I’d like to personally thank each of them. The temperatures were even higher than expected, placing enormous stress not only on the drivers but on the cars as well. It was a real test for everyone involved,” Fanta added.
In a typically competitive 20-car field at Misano, Viktor Mráz and Davit Kajaia established themselves as front-runners in the Masters class from the very first practice sessions. The Slovak-Georgian pairing carried that pace into qualifying, where they underlined their winning potential. Mráz secured pole position for Saturday’s race, while Kajaia qualified second for Sunday’s encounter, putting the No. 89 KTM X-BOW in the fight at the front on both days.
Expectations were high for the No. 89 KTM X-BOW heading into the opening race. However, the team’s hopes of victory were dashed before the lights even went out. A clutch issue prevented Davit Kajaia and Viktor Mráz from taking the start, forcing them to watch Saturday’s race from the sidelines. The duo responded in the best possible way on Sunday, turning disappointment into a commanding victory.
The groundwork for the eventual victory was laid in the opening stint by Davit Kajaia, who executed the team’s strategy perfectly. “Our goal was to stay with the leading group. Davit drove an excellent opening stint, kept the car in contention and handed it over without any issues. We knew our main rivals would serve longer pit stops due to their success in Race 1, so staying close was the key,” explained Tomáš Fanta, outlining the team’s race strategy.
The strategy paid off perfectly. Once the pit-stop cycle had played out, Viktor Mráz emerged in the lead of the Masters class. The Slovak driver seized the opportunity with both hands, converting it into a class victory while also securing an impressive fourth place overall – another outstanding result for RTR projects.
“I believe this was Viktor’s strongest performance since we started racing together. It was a hard-fought and fully deserved victory,” said Tomáš Fanta, praising the Slovak driver, who climbed to the top step of the podium for the second time this season. Mráz had previously claimed Masters class honours at the second round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, where he dominated Sunday’s race alongside German driver Lennart Marioneck.
Davit Kajaia was equally full of praise for his teammate. “Viktor’s driving ability is outstanding. He delivered a truly remarkable performance,” said the experienced racer, highlighting Mráz’s impressive display. Kajaia, who is also competing in the NASCAR Euro Series this season, brings a wealth of international experience to the team. His career includes appearances in the Ferrari Challenge Europe as well as a variety of touring car championships. Among his achievements is the 2015 ETCC TC2T title, where he was crowned category champion.
Although Kajaia has experienced many challenges throughout his career, the Misano weekend will stand out as a particularly memorable one – and not only because of the Sunday victory. “I have never raced in conditions like this before. The heat was incredibly demanding, but I’m proud that I managed to handle it,” said the experienced driver, who made no secret of the physical challenge the weekend presented.
Thanks to another victory this season, Viktor Mráz strengthened his second place in the Masters class standings. Championship leader Philippe Prette, who claimed one win and recorded one retirement at Misano, currently holds a 40-point advantage over the RTR projects driver. Davit Kajaia has shared the KTM X-BOW cockpit with Viktor Mráz at only two of the three completed rounds so far this season. As a result, he currently sits seventh in the overall standings.
Mercedes: Making the Most of Every Opportunity
While RTR projects’ KTM X-BOW was among the fastest cars from the very first sessions at Misano, the challenge was considerably greater for the Mercedes-AMG GT2 pairing of Petr Lisa and Ondřej Rokos. The duo arrived at the technically demanding circuit with no previous race experience in this car at the venue, while for Rokos it was his first-ever appearance at Misano. Despite taking part in Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions, the limited track time was simply not enough to fully overcome this disadvantage.
“We had technical issues from the very beginning of the weekend,” explained Tomáš Fanta. “We were unable to properly evaluate all the setup changes we wanted to try, and there was no time available to practice pit stops. The amount of time both drivers were able to spend behind the wheel was extremely limited,” Fanta described the challenges faced by the Czech pairing.
However, the situation began to turn around on Saturday. The pairing qualified fifth for the opening race and went on to celebrate a second-place finish at the chequered flag. Victory was within reach, though, as the final results were reshuffled by post-race penalties.
“We were later moved down to third place. Unfortunately, we exited the pits around one tenth of a second too early, which resulted in a penalty,” explained Petr Lisa. As it turned out, that penalty ultimately cost the pairing a potential victory. Célia Martín and Luca Pirri from LP Racing, who had originally been classified as the overall and Masters class winners with their Maserati, were later disqualified due to the car being underweight. “At least we showed Prette that we have the pace to challenge him and that we can beat him,” said Lisa, pleased with the direct fight against the championship leader.
The second race saw the Mercedes-AMG pairing finish in fourth place. “The pace simply wasn’t quite there compared to Saturday,” admitted Lisa. “It was clear that we were missing the track time from practice. Throughout the weekend, we were effectively trying to find the right setup with limited information, and this time it showed,” he added.
Petr Lisa was also full of praise for his teammate Ondřej Rokos. “He had almost no time to prepare, but considering the circumstances, he did an outstanding job. He set some excellent lap times and extracted the maximum possible from the weekend. He started the first race brilliantly, stayed exactly where he needed to be and even managed to overtake some cars,” Lisa highlighted his teammate’s performance.
Although the Misano weekend did not unfold exactly as Petr Lisa and Ondřej Rokos had hoped, it still brought several positives. The most important outcome was their progress in the Masters class standings, where the Mercedes-AMG pairing moved up to third place overall. They now sit just four points behind their RTR projects teammates Viktor Mráz in the championship classification.
“At this stage of the season, having both of our cars inside the top three is the most important thing for us. Our goal is to maintain this position until the end of the year,” concluded Tomáš Fanta.
The GT2 European Series now heads into its summer break. The championship battle will resume on 18–20 September at the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort, where the field will return to fight for more valuable points. However, RTR projects will be back in action before then. At the turn of July and August, the team will compete in the Central European GT Cup Series round at Most.
