“We really enjoyed it. We had lots of guests visiting, and everyone was cheering. The drivers got into their rhythm quickly. The GTX class was incredibly competitive — I can’t remember the last time lap times were this fast. We raced really well,” reflected team CEO Tomáš Fanta on his squad’s first outing of the year in the GT Cup Series.
For Petr Lisa and Ondřej Rokos, who are primarily competing this year in the GT2 European Series with the Mercedes-AMG, it was their first race together following a two-month break. Rokos had missed the European GT2 rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and Misano due to the birth of his daughter and to spend time with his family. At Most, however, the break was barely noticeable.
First, Rokos claimed fifth place in the GTX class during Saturday’s sprint race. However, he truly impressed his team in the hour-long endurance event, where he delivered a series of strong overtaking moves during the opening stint. He successfully battled not only rivals from his own category but also cars from the GTC class and even the top-tier GT3 machines.
“The endurance race was, for me personally, the best I’ve ever contested. Lots of overtaking and action — it was fantastic,” Rokos praised, handing the car over to Petr Lisa in third place in the GTX class. This was despite losing the lead he had built up when a red flag was brought out following Rudolf Beňa’s incident.
Lisa then picked up where Rokos had left off, guiding RTR Projects towards a bronze finish. However, clutch issues soon came into play. “Everything was fine until the first chicane, where instead of second gear I dropped into neutral and couldn’t engage properly. I managed to get it back through the clutch. The rivals caught up, but I was still able to keep them behind me,” Lisa explained.
In the end, the problem proved more serious. “The car wouldn’t drive out of the corners. It felt as if the clutch was constantly pressed. It happened in every gear, so every corner exit became a major issue. It just kept getting worse. Gradually the rivals passed me, and I couldn’t keep going. I was just glad to limp back to the pits,” Lisa rued, also feeling disappointed for his team-mate. “Ondra deserved that podium. He delivered a fantastic performance, executed perfect overtaking moves, and set excellent lap times. He’s taken another huge step forward,” he praised.
Ondřej Rokos had originally been scheduled to race in Sunday’s sprint, but RTR Projects ultimately decided to sit it out. “We’re not competing in the full championship — our appearance at Most was primarily about gaining experience. There was no reason to work on the clutch late into the night; it would have just been stress for both the team and Ondra. The amount of racing kilometres we covered from Thursday to Saturday was huge. Our main goal was to get practice, and we achieved that,” explained Tomáš Fanta.
Tomáš Miniberger was also preparing for the conclusion of the GT2 European Series at Most, competing in the KTM X-Bow GT2. He finished fourth in the GTX class during the endurance race.
RTR Projects will also compete in the final two rounds of this year’s GT Cup Series, taking place at the Slovakia Ring from 22–24 August and in Brno from 5–7 September. The final two rounds of the GT2 European Series will follow, at Valencia from 19–21 September and Barcelona from 10–12 October.
