Consistent points finishes and two sixth places as his best results — Josef Hrdlička of the Mičánek Motorsport team can look back on a successful season in the Porsche Sports Cup Deutschland. Competing in the Sprint Challenge GT3 category, he showed a marked improvement in performance compared with last year and ultimately secured eighth place in the final standings of class 2d.
“I’m satisfied. This year, all those miles behind the wheel really started to show, and I’ve been improving. You simply have to spend the time in the car and gain experience if you want to move forward,” reflects Hrdlička on the past season. He credits his progress above all to his coach — none other than 25-time Czech champion Jiří Mičánek Sr. “He helps me a lot and keeps pushing me to improve. Together, we analyse mistakes to shave off tenths — it used to be seconds,” he adds.
Hrdlička moved up to the Sprint Challenge GT3 category last year, having previously competed in the Driver’s Competition Pro division — and the difference was significant. While Driver’s Competition Pro is structured as a regularity event, Sprint Challenge GT3 delivers full-blooded racing, complete with door-to-door battles. Although Hrdlička made steady progress throughout the 2024 season, he narrowly missed out on scoring points, with his best result being 11th place at Oschersleben.
Heading into the 2025 season, the Mičánek Motorsport driver had a clear goal — to score points. And he managed to tick that box straight away. In the opening race at Hockenheimring, he crossed the finish line in eighth place. Over the remainder of the season, he added to his tally on seven more occasions, missing out on points only four times. By the end of the year, he secured eighth place in the overall standings.
Hrdlička achieved his best results in the second race at the Nürburgring and again in the opening heat of the season finale at Hockenheimring, finishing sixth on both occasions. It was that first race of the final weekend, however, that he rates as his strongest performance of the year.
“Hockenheimring was more valuable for me,” he said. “I started from eighth on the grid and managed to fight my way up two places. There were no collisions, no safety car — nothing played into my hands. I simply worked my way up to sixth and held it until the finish.”
Although Hrdlička was pleased with his sixth-place finish at the Nürburgring as well, he acknowledges that the circumstances played a role in that result. “The safety car came out three times, and two or three cars dropped out — that helped me a bit. At Hockenheimring, there was none of that. I had to drive it all on my own and fight right to the very last second,” he explains.
The season, however, also brought its share of disappointment. Hrdlička’s toughest weekend came at the Red Bull Ring, where he failed to score a single point in the third event of the year, finishing 14th and 15th. It was the second race of the weekend that left him particularly frustrated.
“My rival pushed me onto the grass, and our wheels touched. I lifted off, and unfortunately, my tyre blew out. That forced me into the pits from eighth place,” he recalls, shaking his head. With time, however, he can look back on the moment with a sense of humour. “At least I lived up to my name and flew through the air like a proper Hrdlička,” he laughs.
The championship offers no shortage of fierce battles. “It’s very fast-paced racing, with plenty of crashes, collisions, and contact. Nobody really holds back here. There are a lot of young guys from the Carrera Cup who don’t think twice about a collision. There are also Polish drivers who, let’s say, don’t mind taking risks. I have to be a bit more cautious, as my budget is somewhat limited,” he explains.
Hrdlička attributes his improvement this year to several factors. Among them, he highlights his decision to invest more financially in testing. He even knows precisely what made the difference in achieving better results.
“I’ve improved most in the fast corners, which was particularly evident in the final race at Hockenheimring. At the start of the season, I was lapping around 1:43.7 there; now I managed 1:41.3 in qualifying — a gain of 2.4 seconds. We analysed the data and telemetry, and it really came down to the fast corners. I needed to learn how to brake into them properly. Previously, I was slowing down too early, when I could have braked a little less and later. I had to build confidence in my hands and feet and start trusting the car more,” he reveals.
Hrdlička aims to make further progress in the next Porsche Sports Cup Deutschland season. “It’s still early after this season, but I hope we’ll be able to race again next year. I’d really like to continue,” he concludes.
