Laura Kraihamer shines in GT2 European Series return
- RACERS
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
"I felt confident and strong - and I felt so hungry. Racing for a podium is the best feeling you can have." - Laura Kraihamer made a strong return to the GT2 European Series at Paul Ricard with a stellar Race 1 stint that put her team in podium contention in tricky mixed weather, however misfortunes prevented the RTR Projects duo from scoring well deserved podiums.
Austrian Laura Kraihamer made her return to the GT2 European Series at Circuit Paul Ricard, where SRO kicked off its 2025 European season. She did so with an outstanding stint in the first race, where she drove from fifth to second place overall in mixed weather conditions, showing great pace in the RTR Projects KTM X-Bow GT2 car. However, misfortunes prevented the team from scoring well deserved podiums, with a technical issue in Race 2 ending their race prematurely.
Kraihamer, an experienced driver at the helm of KTM machinery, joined the GT2 European championship for the first time in 2022, when she raced in select rounds before returning for a more extensive campaign in 2024. Last year, Kraihamer enjoyed a positive season, with top-five finishes at Misano and her first series podium at Monza, ultimately finishing sixth in the ProAm standings.
Joining RTR Projects on the eve of the 2025 season opener, Laura would team up with Slovak racer Mato Homola aboard the #89 KTM X-Bow GT2, in a three-car effort for the Czech outfit. Having recently been classified as Bronze, it was a great opportunity for the Austrian to return to the racetrack in a competitive lineup, aiming for the top of the ProAm classification.
Despite limited testing leading up to the race, Kraihamer and Homola were soon on pace at Le Castellet – a circuit that she had raced on for the first time in her career in 2024.
In the official practice session, the duo was fifth in class and sixth overall, as the drivers and team worked on the car’s setup and on finding speed.
Pre-Qualifying followed, with Homola setting a 2:06.3 early in the session, placing them among the front runners in ProAm. Kraihamer took over in the second part of the session, also setting solid lap times. They ended fourth overall and third in ProAm, as the top KTM car – further solidifying themselves as one of the leading lineups.
On Saturday morning came the two qualifying sessions. Laura Kraihamer was behind the wheel in Q1, where she found solid pace: an early 2:07.937 put her up into third in class and fourth overall. She kept improving, lowering her time to 2:07.631. The Austrian shaved off another tenth and remained in the top five, finishing a promising session in P5 overall and third in ProAm – clearly in contention for a podium.
Mato Homola took over for Q2 in the #89 KTM, placing third fastest and second in ProAm in the early minutes. As times continued to drop, Homola dipped below the 2:06 barrier, which placed him fifth in class and overall with five minutes to go. While he couldn’t improve on his final run and pitted, the duo were sixth overall and fifth among the ProAm runners, with very close gaps ahead at the end of Q2.
Sunday morning’s Race 1 took place under cloudy skies and on a damp track from overnight rain.
Starting fifth overall and fourth in class, Laura Kraihamer was at the wheel for the first stint. She immediately moved up into fourth overall with a strong start, but the Safety Car was deployed straight away following a big crash at the back of the field, when the #8 LP Racing Maserati of Anik Patel impacted the barriers.
After the restart with 48 minutes to go, Kraihamer made a bold move and reclaimed fourth from the #7 Dinamic Motorsport Maserati, which had passed her under the Safety Car.
Kraihamer’s charge continued as she made a decisive move on the inside at the Chicane and passed Thomas Andersen’s Razoon KTM. She soon cleared him and immediately attacked Philippe Prette.
When Prette went for the lead on Bronek Formanek, Kraihamer seized the opportunity and took second overall, then glued herself to the back of the overall leader, the Buggyra Lamborghini, ina spirited first stint for the Austrian.
Laura set the fastest lap with a 2:10.245, continuing to apply pressure on Formanek while also opening a gap on Prette. Formanek responded with a new fastest lap, but Kraihamer remained within half a second. Both drivers pitted midway through the race for their mandatory stop with 33 minutes remaining.
After a remarkable first stint, where Kraihamer looked very comfortable in tricky grip conditions and made several brilliant overtaking moves, Mato Homola took over the #89 KTM X-Bow GT2. The RTR Projects team executed a perfect pit stop, and Homola emerged ahead of the Buggyra Lamborghini in the virtual lead. Stefan Rosina briefly got back ahead, but Homola reclaimed the position.
However, the Lamborghini had quicker straight-line speed, and Rosina passed Homola again into Turn 1 one lap later, leaving no room for a counterattack. As the final pit stops cycled through, Homola was back into second overall and second in ProAm. However, Simon Birch in the #80 Razoon-More Than Racing KTM was closing in fast.
By lap 17, Homola was under pressure from Birch, who eventually made it past one lap later. Homola then came under attack from the #115 NM Motorsport Mercedes, which had been recategorized to ProAm. Nil Montserrat closed the gap and overtook for third with nine minutes to go. With an 18-second margin to the LP Racing Maserati behind, Homola settled into fourth.
Despite a more challenging second half of the stint as track conditions evolved, Homola still crossed the line comfortably in P4 – completing a solid start to the season for the team. While missing out on a podium in the season opener was certainly a disappointing outcome, the #89 RTR Projects crew had shown great speed and proved to be a top contender for Race 2 later in the evening.
Later in the afternoon, Race 2 unfolded in worsening rain and highly unpredictable conditions.
Starting from fifth in class and overall, it was Mato Homola who took the start in the #89 KTM.
Heavier rain fell as the cars left the grid; at the start, thick water spray into Turn 1 made visibility poor.
Mauro Calamia’s Maserati spun, and Homola had to take the outside line to avoid the incident – he nevertheless managed to move up into fourth as Rosina, Birch, and Montserrat battled for the lead ahead.
Homola initially lost touch with the top three but built a solid gap to the AM-leading Mercedes behind. He set a 2:23.4 and kept improving lap after lap: by lap 4, he was gaining on Birch, who was struggling to keep up with Rosina and Montserrat.
A contact between the two AM class leaders – the #296 RTR Mercedes and the #1 LP Racing Maserati – brought out a local yellow, but both drivers rejoined without requiring neutralization. Homola was now matching the pace of Montserrat and Birch, following the latter by just 2.5 seconds, while Stefan Rosina had managed to pull out a 7-second lead.
The pit window opened, and Mato Homola pitted on lap 12 from P4 overall and in the ProAm class to hand over to Laura Kraihamer. Unfortunately, a technical issue struck during the pit stop, and Kraihamer was unable to start her stint.
It was a big disappointment for the Czech team, which was clearly in contention for a podium before being forced to retire. Despite the disappointment and leaving Paul Ricard without a podium, Laura Kraihamer showed brilliant pace in Race 1 and proved once again that she belongs in this field and can contend for podiums and wins.
"It's been an intense weekend for me, being on such a competitive driver pairing while not being in the car testing really since last October", Kraihamer said at the end of the weekend.
"It has been a huge opportunity, but also a huge challenge. And I'm super happy with the performance in race one", she continued. "I felt I needed Friday and Saturday in the car to get comfortable.
And on Sunday, I felt at home."
"I felt confident and strong - and I felt so hungry. Racing for a podium is the best feeling you can have."
"That's what I take from this race. I think I've performed really well", she summarized, taking the positives from a commendable performance. "I was feeling the car and just having an amazing time. Obviously I would have really wished for this opportunity to showcase how much I can do as a bronze driver, but I still take the positives and I hope and wait for the next opportunity to come."
"I am thankful that I had this opportunity, showing me how much I love competitive racing."
While she's currently not certain of a seat for the next rounds, the Kraihamer-Homola duo proved to be a strong ProAm lineup, able to contend for front-running positions.
Comments