From an empty calendar in February to a schedule packed with GT3 commitments, Colin Caresani (22) has seen his fortunes change rapidly. The Dutchman now continues the season with three programmes, a leading role in a new team and caught the eye of Ford Racing after a successful Nürburgring 24 Hours campaign.

The 2024 GT World Challenge Endurance Silver champion told GT REPORT earlier this year that he was working on a comeback to the most prestigious championships, admitting it was challenging to not have anything lined up for the start of the season. 

Not so long ago, he received two offers within a week: to join Grupo Prom Racing in GT World Challenge Europe for the entire season and to return to the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo (CIGT), this time with the young team of Stratia Motorsport. The weapon of choice for both programmes is the Mercedes-AMG GT3, a chassis he knows inside out.

“I had amazing programmes lined up from 2025 to 2026, but for multiple reasons it didn’t work out,” Caresani tells GT REPORT ahead of his first weekend in Italian GT at Monza (June 19-21). “I’m not able to simply pick any seat I want, so I need help from teams, bronze drivers, manufacturers or programme leaders who believe in me. It certainly was difficult to not have anything planned in February, while I felt like I progressed as a person and a driver.”

Giving up was obviously not an option: “Then things suddenly started to fall into place – with ten race weekends filling my agenda. I have around 14 weekends planned now, and I would definitely be okay with ten more!” Caresani laughs.

Racing and leading: multitasking skills put to the test

It appears to be a season that will elevate his skills even further, as he takes on leadership roles in both GTWCE and CIGT. Especially in Italian GT, where Stratia Motorsport relies on his knowledge and experience for the team’s inaugural season in the championship. Caresani completes the line-up with Florian Scholze and Sacha Lehmann.

“Stratia Motorsport is a completely new team. It means I’m working with them even more off track as well – not just as a driver. I give feedback on setup and the processes, but also on engineering and how to assemble the team even better. For example: I’m helping them choose the right engineers and mechanics.”

The Swiss outfit – established in 2025 by racing driver Antoine Bottiroli – works in close collaboration with Antonelli Motorsport, where Caresani competed in 2025. The team aims to become independent eventually, with the help of Caresani and others.

A nice challenge for the Dutchman, who also wants to emphasize the teamwork behind it: “I’m definitely not doing it on my own. I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly how to prepare a damper or a diff,” he laughs, “but the knowledge I have from the past three years is absolutely valuable.”

‘I’m confident things will work out then’

Especially now he has experience working with different teams and platforms in the same season. Earlier this year he competed with Haupt Racing Team (HRT) in the Nürburgring 24h Qualifiers and the 24 Hours itself, steering the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo around the Nordschleife after having very little preparation time.

It shows that he’s able to shift and adapt quickly and flourishes in a new environment easily. No surprise then, that Ford was very happy with him and more opportunties could arise during the year. “I see a lot of potential within Ford,” Caresani continues.

“Not only how they work, but with the opportunties for up-and-coming drivers. They still have some spots left in their factory programme. If you look at BMW or Porsche, their programmes are already full. Ford is in a good place right now, so I see a lot of opportunities. They were happy with my work and my performance during the N24.”

For Caresani, it doesn’t really matter in what car or for which manufacturer he’s driving, “I don’t need a lot of time to adapt. I try to focus on where the opportunties are and to find people who really believe in me. I’m confident that things will work out then.”