GT Winter Series Aragón: Arūnas Gečiauskas prevails in another wet Race 1 at Aragón

Rain once again shaped the action at MotorLand Aragón, where Arūnas Gečiauskas claimed victory with the #71 Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 in a chaotic GT Winter Series opening race defined by a late restart that kept the fight for the win alive until the final laps.

Early drama from pole

Guy Albag, driving the #64 Antonelli Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, started from pole position and initially led the field away cleanly on the soaked Aragón circuit. The opening lap soon turned messy further down the order, however, when the #67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren 720S GT3 of Simon Orange and the #27 PTT Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Przemyslaw Bienkowski came together, sending both cars into a spin.

Up front, the race began to turn on the back stretch. Albag ran wide while exiting the preceding corner, handing momentum to Arūnas Gečiauskas in the #71 Juta Audi, who seized the opportunity to move into the lead.

Zulauf charges forward

Behind the leaders, the second lap saw Finn Zulauf begin his charge through the field aboard the #19 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Lamborghini Huracán GT3. The German first overtook the #11 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenneth Heyer for fourth place before quickly closing in on the cars ahead.

Zulauf wasted little time applying pressure, forcing both Albag and Seweryn Mazur in the #79 Sendom Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 into defensive driving. As the conditions continued to challenge the drivers, the battle for the podium intensified.

The fight eventually boiled over when Albag and Mazur made contact while disputing third place. The collision left Albag with bent suspension and an early retirement.

Mazur’s race became increasingly complicated after the safety car restart. While battling Zulauf into the hairpin, the #79 Sendom Lamborghini ran wide and was spun after contact from Kenneth Heyer, who had little opportunity to avoid the car.

After the race, Mazur was handed a 35-second time penalty for overtaking before the safety car line at the restart.

Gečiauskas holds on

The scramble during the restart ultimately gave Gečiauskas just enough breathing room at the front. Zulauf closed rapidly in the closing minutes, but the Lithuanian driver kept control in the tricky conditions.

After 12 laps, the #71 Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 crossed the line first, taking victory by 1.375 seconds over the #19 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Zulauf, and Kenneth Heyer further back in third.

Class winners

Alongside the overall GT3 battle, Cup 2 was the only other class with multiple cars fighting for the win. The two-car Cup 2 for Porsches was won by Igor Klaja with the #7 PTT Racing Team Porsche 992 GT3 Cup in eighth place overall. Petar Matić finished fifth overall to secure the Cup 4 victory in the #32 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST. Giacomo Rinaldo claimed Cup 1 honours in the #75 Rossocorsa Ferrari 296 Challenge. The GTX class was won by Michael Fischbaum in the #18 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST.

Sunday action

Race 2 and Race 3 of the GT Winter Series weekend at MotorLand Aragón will take place on Sunday at 12:00 CET and 16:05 CET respectively. The final race will run for 55 minutes and includes a mandatory pit stop with a driver change.