“Winning the second race was our biggest achievement of the season so far,” said Tomáš Fanta, Managing Director of RTR projects, reflecting on a weekend that ended in the best possible fashion. Fanta was equally impressed by the immediate chemistry between Lennart Marioneck and Viktor Mráz. The German-Slovak pairing were making their first appearance together as team-mates. “Not only was it their first race together, but they actually met for the very first time on Thursday before the event. That surprised even me. They clicked straight away, both on and off the track, and together they delivered a fantastic result,” Fanta added.
The weather forecast suggested that the second round of the GT2 European Series would provide a stern challenge for the field of around twenty crews, with rain expected to play a major role throughout the weekend. In the end, however, those predictions only partially came true. The only wet running came during Friday’s second free practice session, while all of the key sessions—including qualifying and both races—were held in dry conditions.
RTR projects already looked capable of fighting for a podium finish in Saturday’s opening race. Although Viktor Mráz qualified the team’s KTM fifth in the Masters class, the Slovak driver showed strong pace during the opening stint and quickly worked his way into contention for the podium places. However, the crew’s challenge came to an abrupt end following a bizarre incident that completely dashed their hopes of a top-three finish.
The turning point came when Štefan Rosina’s Maserati suffered a driveshaft failure as it entered the pit lane. The stricken car blocked access to the pit boxes for several minutes, leaving a queue of competitors unable to reach their crews. Unfortunately, the RTR projects KTM was among the cars caught behind Rosina’s Maserati, losing a significant amount of time through no fault of its own. As a result, Lennart Marioneck and Viktor Mráz had to settle for sixth place at the chequered flag.
“Had it not been for that unfortunate incident, I believe we would almost certainly have finished on the podium,” said Tomáš Fanta. “The boys definitely had the pace to fight for second place, and at the very least third. From a sporting point of view, it was a huge disappointment,” he added.
The pair bounced back in style on Sunday. Lennart Marioneck started the second race from Masters class pole position and laid the foundations for a strong result. Although Viktor Mráz crossed the finish line second behind Shota Abkhazava in the Lamborghini Huracán, the Kazakh driver was later handed a post-race penalty for causing a collision. That promoted Mráz and Marioneck to victory, giving RTR projects its first Masters class win of the season.
The result was made even more impressive by their sixth-place finish in the overall classification, underlining the pace of the KTM crew against the entire GT2 field.
“Overall, it was a very positive weekend,” said Lennart Marioneck, pleased with his return to the cockpit of the KTM X-Bow GT2 for RTR projects. The German driver was making his first appearance for the team since the final round of the 2025 season in Barcelona, where he partnered Maťo Homola. “Saturday’s pit lane incident cost us what could have been a podium finish, but we certainly made up for it on Sunday. Winning is always special, and to share that success with such a fantastic group of people as RTR projects makes it even more rewarding,” Marioneck said.
The experienced German driver was also full of praise for his collaboration with Viktor Mráz. “He’s not only a very strong driver, but also a great guy. He’s fully committed to motorsport and works just as hard as everyone else in the team. Everyone in the squad is pushing towards the same goal, which was incredibly motivating for me as well,” Marioneck said, reflecting on their shared weekend.
The duo also benefited from the support of Maťo Homola, who joined the team at the Belgian round in a coaching role. “He deserves a huge amount of credit. His coaching was excellent, and thanks to him we were able to improve with every run,” said Marioneck, praising the input of the driver with whom he had secured an overall victory in Barcelona back in October last year.
A Bitter Weekend in Spa for Mercedes
RTR projects entered the weekend aiming for strong results from both of its crews. Once again, Ondřej Rokos and Petr Lisa were on the entry list, with the Czech pairing returning in the Mercedes-AMG GT car. The duo had already enjoyed a highly promising start to the new season in May. At Monza, they secured two second-place finishes in the Masters category. Arriving in Belgium with similar ambitions, Lisa and Rokos were nevertheless aware even before the weekend that a difficult challenge lay ahead.
According to the Balance of Performance system, designed to ensure the closest possible competition across the grid, the Mercedes-AMG cars had their engine power restricted. On a circuit defined by high-speed sections and long straights, this was a factor that was unlikely to play in their favour. To make matters more challenging, Ondřej Rokos was tackling the demanding seven-kilometre layout for the very first time in his career. As if that were not enough, he was also limited to just four laps in Friday’s second practice session due to wet weather conditions.
Nevertheless, at the start of Saturday’s race, things initially looked far more promising. Although Rokos was hit in the side by a rival immediately after the start, the contact had little effect on the car’s handling. During the opening stages, he even ran at the front of the Masters category and later found himself battling for second place with championship leader Philippe Prette. However, the duel with the Maserati driver ended in contact on the approach to Eau Rouge, sending Rokos into the barriers.
“Unfortunately, that one is on me,” admitted Rokos, taking responsibility for the incident. “I misjudged the gap between us and only noticed him at the very last moment. But that’s part of motorsport, and it’s a valuable lesson we can learn from,” said the Czech driver, who fortunately walked away from the crash unharmed.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, it was far from certain whether the heavily damaged Mercedes could be repaired in time for Sunday’s race. Once again, however, RTR projects demonstrated strong team spirit and determination. “The guys worked until around six in the morning and eventually managed to get the car fixed. It was no small job, but they showed incredible effort. They did an amazing piece of work — hats off to them,” said Petr Lisa, full of praise for the crew.
Sunday’s race also proved far from straightforward for the Czech crew, with problems arriving right at the very end.
“On the final lap I picked up a puncture,” explained Rokos, who nevertheless managed to bring the car home in seventh place. “I just tried to nurse the car across the line to secure the points, which fortunately we still managed to do,” he added with relief, before admitting the extent of the damage. “The entire right-hand side of the car was heavily damaged.”
Petr Lisa did not rate the weekend positively overall, but remains confident about better results ahead. “Spa definitely didn’t go according to plan for us. But it’s in moments like these that you need to pull together and stick as a team. Credit goes to the mechanics and everyone in the squad, but also to Ondra. Everyone showed incredible fighting spirit,” Lisa said, offering encouragement to the team.
At the second round of the GT2 European Series, RTR projects confirmed that both of its cars must be considered strong contenders for podium positions in the Masters category. The next opportunity for success will come on 18–19 July, when the championship returns to Italy for its second visit of the season, this time heading to Misano. Viktor Mráz currently sits second in the overall standings, 34 points behind leader Philippe Prette. Meanwhile, Ondřej Rokos and Petr Lisa are classified fifth in the championship standings.
