Luisa Kahler wraps up GT4 Winter Series season with victory in Barcelona

RACERS

Mar 116 min read

GT4 rookie Luisa Kahler wrapped up the GT4 Winter Series season with a pair of podiums and a victory in the endurance race at Circuit de Catalunya, securing the Vice-Champion title in the Cayman Trophy class.

Madeline Stewart, JDX Racing, Porsche Carrera Cup North America — Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich

The 19-year-old made remarkable progress over the five-event season, securing her first class podium on debut in Estoril, followed by her first pole position in Valencia, and claiming her first victory in Aragon, where she engaged in a thrilling duel for the win until the final lap.

Kahler, who made her car racing debut in 2023 in the BMW M2 Cup, only made her first GT4 starts a few weeks ago but quickly adapted behind the wheel of the #111 SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm Porsche Cayman: competing in the Cayman Trophy class, she steadily improved both her qualifying pace and racecraft, showcasing great determination in battles and impressive overtaking skills.

Fresh off her first series victory in the 60-minute endurance race at Aragon, Kahler was ready to take on the season finale at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, just a few days later. Teaming up again with Michael Sander, the duo got up to speed during pre-event testing on Thursday and Friday, working through changing weather conditions to find the optimal car setup, with rain forecasted for Saturday.

A wet track greeted the drivers on Saturday morning for qualifying, with Michael Sander taking the wheel for Q1 in heavy rain. Despite the challenging conditions, Sander delivered a strong performance, setting a 2:08.6 lap time to place P15 overall and over a second clear of the closest Cayman Trophy competitor, the #41 car of Jakub Twarog, securing class pole position.

In Q2, Luisa Kahler took over the #111 Porsche and continued her impressive progress, demonstrating increasing confidence in the rain. She clocked a 2:07.098, placing second in class behind championship leader Cedric Fuchs.

Sander took the start for Saturday’s sprint race but lost the class lead to Franz Linden on the first lap. As he closed back in, an unfortunate crash on lap three at Turn 1 took him out of the race following contact with Linden. Fortunately, both drivers were unhurt.

With no further races scheduled on Saturday, the SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm crew worked tirelessly overnight to repair the car, ensuring that Kahler would be able to take the start for her race on Sunday morning.

Sunday morning marked the second sprint race of the weekend, with Luisa Kahler set for her 30-minute solo race, following the remarkable team afforts to repair the car.

Once again, the 19-year-old had the opportunity to gain experience in wet conditions, as the track remained soaked despite some teams opting for slick tyres on the starting grid.

Two formation laps were added to help drivers acclimate to the conditions, but some of the teams who initially chose slicks ultimately pitted at the end of the first formation lap to switch back to wet tyres.

Kahler lined up second in class and 17th overall. As the safety car pulled in and the lights went out, rain intensified right at the start. Kahler had a brilliant getaway, navigating Turn 1 skillfully as drivers searched for grip. She moved up to P14 overall while maintaining second in the Cayman Trophy class, staying close behind the sister SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm Porsche driven by Cedric Fuchs.

By the end of the first lap, Kahler had already climbed to 11th overall, overtaking several Pro-class cars. On the second lap, the #39 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin, driven by Detout, became stranded in the gravel, triggering the first safety car period.

This presented an opportunity for Kahler to close the gap, as only the #007 Aston Martin of Araujo now separated her from the Cayman Trophy class leader. At the restart with 16 minutes remaining, Fuchs and Kahler worked their way through traffic. Abee drifted off into the gravel, and on lap 8, Kahler overtook Araujo, bringing her just 1.5 seconds behind her championship rival.

She continued to improve, setting personal best lap times—first a 2:07.2, then breaking the 2:07 barrier while matching Fuchs' pace. Showing significant progress in wet conditions, Kahler made her way into the overall top ten.

In the final five minutes, as rain intensified once again, she set a new personal best of 2:05.9. However, she now had the #99 East Racing Motorsport ProAm Porsche right behind her and had to defend her position. Despite the pressure, Kahler held off Bauer and secured P9 overall, finishing a hard-fought second in the Cayman Trophy class. It was a strong performance in extremely challenging conditions, as she gained eight positions in the 28-car field.

The final race of the GT4 Winter Series season was the 60-minute endurance event, this time on a dry track—offering yet another opportunity for Luisa Kahler to gain valuable experience in different conditions.

Starting P10 overall and second in class, Michael Sander took the opening stint, holding position as he battled with Cayman Trophy class leader Wilhelm Kuhne, while also navigating traffic from the faster ProAm class. Kuhne managed to place the #98 BMW M4 GT4 between himself and Sander on the second lap, but Sander stayed close.

Jakub Twarog, in the #41 Forch Racing Cayman, then overtook Sander on lap 4, dropping him to third in class. Twarog was setting the fastest lap times in class, but Sander responded with a strong 1:54.7, just a tenth slower, keeping the top three in the Cayman Trophy closely bunched together as Twarog took the class lead.

On lap 6, Richard Andermark came to a halt at Turn 4, bringing out the safety car.

Racing resumed with 39 minutes to go, and Sander immediately went on the attack against Kuhne. However, another incident—this time between Joachim Bolting and Roman Fellner-Feldegg at Turn 5—brought out the safety car once again.

When the green flag waved again, the pit window was approaching. Sander held third but increased the pressure on Kuhne through Turns 5 and 6. As the first teams began their mandatory pit stops, Sander opted to stay out for one extra lap, briefly cycling to the class lead before pitting on lap 14.

Luisa Kahler then took over driving duties, rejoining second in the Cayman Trophy class, as Cedric Fuchs in the sister #110 car emerged as the new class leader.

Just a few laps later, the safety car was deployed again on lap 17 after Manuel Lauck’s #88 East Racing Motorsport Porsche was hit and spun into the barriers at Turn 1 by the #17 PROsport Aston Martin.

The clean-up was swift, and racing resumed with 17 minutes to go. At this point, Kahler was running 17th overall and second in class, but four cars separated her from Fuchs. Meanwhile, she had fast ProAm entries closing in from behind.

Kahler maintained a consistent 1:56 pace but couldn't quite match Fuchs’ lap times, allowing him to extend his lead. She continued making up ground, eventually passing the #30 Mercedes AMG GT4 and dipping under the 1:55 mark. However, traffic in other classes made further progress difficult.

Then came a major plot twist on lap 23: Cedric Fuchs was handed a drive-through penalty for a short pit stop. As the #110 Cayman served its penalty, Kahler inherited the class lead with just five minutes remaining. She continued to improve her lap times, pushing to extend her advantage.

Kahler remained unchallenged and she crossed the finish line to take the victory—her second of the season—securing a strong conclusion to her GT4 Winter Series campaign.

"It was the perfect ending to the GT4 Winter Series and my first season in a GT4 car", Kahler commented. "A huge thank to the entire team and especially to all the mechanics who gave everything to get our car back on track!"

Luisa Kahler wrapped up her rookie GT4 season with 9 class podiums out of 10 races, 2 class victories and 3 overall top-ten finishes, resulting in 172 points that secured her the Vice-Champion title in the Cayman Trophy class.

Throughout the season, Kahler showcased significant improvements, refining her skills with each race weekend. Her stronger qualifying performances, growing confidence in battles, and standout overtakes—such as her thrilling duel in Aragon—highlighted her progress in just five weekends. After this strong rookie campaign, the 19-year-old now looks forward to applying these learnings in her next racing season.