The season finale of the Fanatec GT2 European Series was a real nail-biter, but at the chequered flag there was plenty for KTM to celebrate. Works driver Reinhard Kofler and Martin Koch putting in a flawless lights-to-flag victory in their KTM X-BOW GT2, while Stefan Rosina and Gilles Vannelet recovered excellently to complete the one-two finish in Le Castellet. KTM customer team RTR Projects also had reason to cheer as they wrapped up the Am title, with Jan Krabec prevailing against fellow KTM driver Klaus Angerhofer by the barest of margins.
“It’s a special day for KTM customer racing,” said Reinhard Kofler, who helped MZR to their maiden victory in the hard-fought series. The 38-year-old was also battling for the title in the Pro Am classification but ultimately finished just one point short of first place. Nevertheless, missing out on the championship didn’t dilute any of the joy at the weekend’s performance. “We took pole position and made a break for it at the start of the race,” Kofler said. “The team was perfectly prepared and the set-up couldn’t have been better,” added Koch. “I was able to pick up where Reini took off and bring the car home for the win.”
Jan Krabec ended the weekend with two race wins and a championship title. In an exciting conclusion to race two, the RTR Projects driver slipped into the lead in the penultimate turn and crossed the line in first position in the Am class. For the 40-year-old, the end to the 2023 season in the south of France was a dream come true. “At the start of the season I had hoped that I would be able to fight for the title,” the new champion said. “I still can’t quite believe what’s happened. I am proud to have achieved this all by myself.”
Among the first to congratulate Krabec was Klaus Angerhofer, the closest championship rival to the Czech driver. “Jan was always a strong competitor and deserves to be champion,” said the True Racing by Reiter Engineering driver. “We didn’t lose the title here at the final race. Over the course of the season we made some mistakes and dropped some valuable points.” Together with teammate Sehdi Sarmini, Angerhofer recorded a total of three race wins in 2023. Sarmini finished the season in third.
Stefan Rosina had a mixture of emotions after the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard. “I am happy with the race result,” he said, after finishing in second in the Pro-Am classification with Gilles Vannelet. “But I am disappointed about the outcome of the championship. Coming into this weekend, our title chances were still intact.”
Rosina’s championship hopes were still alive only thanks to a car swap within the team. After an accident involving teammate Nicolas Saelens – who was fortunately unhurt – the Slovak driver took over the car set to be driven by Hubert Trunkenpolz and Laura Kraihamer.
In the #51 KTM X-BOW GT2, Frenchmen Alexandre Leroy and Bertrand Rouchaud celebrated their series debut and also scored their first points finish at the first time of asking.