“We’re happy with the result,” said RTR projects Executive Director Tomáš Fanta after the Dutch weekend. His team came away from Zandvoort with three podium finishes in the Masters category, as well as an overall podium.
“We’re once again a little closer to securing second place in the championship heading into the final round. Viktor Mráz currently has the upper hand, but the AMG crew are still very much in the fight. We also need to keep an eye on MZR,” Fanta added, underlining that the battle for second place in the overall standings is far from decided.
Heading into the weekend, RTR projects were preparing for an intra-team battle. Viktor Mráz arrived in Zandvoort second in the overall Masters standings, having scored two Sunday race victories at Spa-Francorchamps and Misano, alongside Lennart Marioneck and Davit Kajaia respectively. Mráz reunited with the former for the Dutch round, while his teammates Petr Lisa and Ondřej Rokos were also firmly in the fight for the runner-up spot. The pair entered the weekend just four points behind Mráz in third place.
The opening battle of the weekend confirmed the order between the two RTR projects crews. Mráz and Marioneck finished second in their class, while Lisa and Rokos secured third. The Czech team’s crews were beaten only by this season’s dominant force, Philipp Prette, at the wheel of a Maserati.
Lennart Marioneck praised his team after Saturday’s race. “We had some engine issues during the practice sessions, but the guys did an excellent job and had everything ready for qualifying. That was when we were finally able to run at full power and without any problems. I’m happy that Viktor and I could reward their efforts with second place,” said the experienced German, who was racing at Zandvoort for the first time since the circuit underwent reconstruction in 2020. “I have to say that I like the track even more than I did before,” he added, enjoying the challenge of a circuit that features two banked corners. Marioneck was also delighted to be racing alongside Viktor Mráz again. “He’s a great teammate. He fought really hard in the race and maintained a fantastic pace. He has improved so much throughout the year, and it was a real pleasure to watch,” Marioneck said of the Slovak driver.
It was a close call on Sunday as Mráz and Marioneck came within touching distance of taking their KTM X-Bow even higher. The RTR projects crew initially settled into second place once again, but during the pit-stop window, race leader Philippe Prette was forced to spend more time with his mechanics than his rivals. This was a time handicap imposed for his victory in Saturday’s race, and it ultimately proved costly. Once the pit-stop window closed, Viktor Mráz found himself leading the Masters category, suddenly within reach of his third victory of the season.
“He fought harder than ever and delivered a truly professional performance,” Tomáš Fanta said of Mráz’s drive. “His performance has impressed me throughout the entire season, and he really deserved that win on Sunday,” the team manager emphasized.
However, the situation ultimately unfolded differently. Problems with the electronic control unit emerged on Mráz’s KTM X-Bow in the closing stages of the race. The Slovak driver was particularly unfortunate to encounter the issue with just five minutes remaining, when Philippe Prette managed to move ahead of him. The Monegasque driver secured yet another victory and, in doing so, also sealed this year’s Masters title with one round still to go. Mráz and Marioneck once again had to settle for second place.
“If Viktor hadn’t had that problem, I believe he would have been able to keep Prette behind him. It would have been a great battle all the way to the chequered flag,” Lennart Marioneck said. The German driver was naturally disappointed by the narrow defeat in the class standings, but there was still plenty to celebrate. In the overall classification, which was affected by a number of penalties, Marioneck and Mráz ultimately fought their way up to third place. “It’s a result I’m really proud of. It’s clear proof of the potential this team has,” the German driver emphasized.
Tomáš Fanta also congratulated their rivals. “The title was simply out of our reach this year. Philippe Prette is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid,” Fanta pointed out. At the same time, he emphasized that Viktor Mráz put up a strong fight against the Monegasque driver throughout the season. “We managed to beat Philippe several times during the season, and we came close to doing it here in Zandvoort as well,” he added.
A Hard-Fought Battle Against the Odds
Although Lennart Marioneck and Viktor Mráz delivered RTR projects’ best results of the weekend, Ondřej Rokos and Petr Lisa also played their part in adding to the team’s collection of trophies. The Czech pairing finished Saturday’s race third in the Masters category before taking fourth place on Sunday.
Tomáš Fanta praised the performance of his team’s second crew over the weekend. “First of all, it has to be said that Zandvoort is simply not a good fit for the Mercedes-AMG. In the second half of the race, all of these cars struggled with extreme tyre degradation,” Fanta pointed out, a view shared by Petr Lisa. “The AMG definitely didn’t get a favourable BoP this weekend. I had to push well beyond my usual limit just to try to make up some of the deficit. We gave it absolutely everything,” said the more experienced driver of the crew.
Lisa and Rokos were also fighting for third place in the Masters category on Sunday. Their battle with the MZR crew of Max Grip and Jack Russell, racing a KTM, ultimately went against the Czech pairing for two reasons. First, Saturday’s third-place finish meant that Lisa and Rokos had to serve a longer pit stop. A decisive moment also unfolded on track while Ondřej Rokos was behind the wheel.
“I carried too much speed into the corner and ended up running into the gravel,” Rokos admitted, clearly frustrated with himself. Petr Lisa was quick to encourage his teammate. “He did a perfect job in qualifying and got the first race off to a fantastic start. He built up a great lead, and I was able to bring it home in third. In the second race, Ondra was simply pushing as hard as he could. We had to give it everything because we just didn’t have the pace compared to the others. When you have to drive beyond the limit, something like this can happen,” Lisa added.
RTR projects now face the final showdown, with everything still to be decided. The final round of this year’s GT2 European Series will take place on 17–18 October at Portimão in Portugal. Viktor Mráz currently sits second in the Masters standings, 13 points clear of Ondřej Rokos and Petr Lisa. Fourth-placed Max Grip and Jack Russell (-24 points) and fifth-placed Oliver Freymuth (-39 points) also remain in contention.
RTR projects are leaving nothing to chance ahead of the decisive battle. “We’re planning testing sessions in Brno and Most,” says Tomáš Fanta, who nevertheless believes his team is already well prepared for Portimão. “We tested there during the winter, so we have a huge amount of data and onboard footage. I believe we’ll score the points we need to secure second place in the Masters standings for one of our crews,” he concludes.
