Two commanding victories. Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra couldn’t have made a stronger debut in the GT2 European Series. The pairing of Bronislav Formánek and Štefan Rosina dominated both Sunday races from start to finish, lapping part of the field. In the second race, on a wet track, they built an almost forty-second gap over the second-fastest competitor.
„With this result, we’ve clearly confirmed our position. We beat AMG, Maserati, and KTM. And we did it in the morning under challenging conditions on a drying track, as well as in the afternoon on a wet surface, where performance differences between cars tend to vanish. There, we were absolutely dominant,” said Jiří Mičánek, team manager of Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra.
The exceptional result is even more impressive given the circumstances. It was the team’s debut in the new series, against new rivals, on new tyres. “Broněk sat in the GT2-spec car for the first time on Friday during free practice. Yet we managed to set up the car extremely quickly and get fully prepared. It shows how strong a team we are. Everyone deserves huge thanks for this – from the mechanics and support crew, to the engineers and the drivers,” emphasised Jiří Mičánek.
Formánek and Rosina were dominant right from qualifying, securing front-row positions. Broněk Formánek took pole position, while Štefan Rosina was second among the professional drivers. However, he ultimately started from the front as well, after the rival LP Racing team chose not to run their Maserati in the afternoon race following a collision in the morning session.
He started on a drying track, while the rest of the grid ran on slick tyres. “The conditions were far from easy, and Broněk and Štefan handled them brilliantly,” praised Jiří Mičánek. “Štofi and I have enough experience to perform well in these conditions,” said Broněk Formánek. “I take the result with humility, just as we learned last year when competing for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo title. But we kicked off the championship in the best possible way. I have to thank Jirka and the entire team – for the perfectly prepared car, and the work of the engineers and mechanics,” he added.
Paradoxically, it was the team’s very dominance that slightly dampened his satisfaction. “In Super Trofeo we’re used to lots of battles and contact; it was tough being so dominant here. I hope there will be more opportunities for wheel-to-wheel racing in the upcoming rounds,” said Formánek.
The second race took place on a wet track, which began to dry in the latter half. Štefan Rosina easily fended off early attacks from rivals and handed the car over to Broněk Formánek with a lead of over ten seconds ahead of the second-placed Mercedes-AMG driven by Nil Montserrat. Despite an additional ten-second stop in the pit lane, mandated as a penalty for winning the first race, Formánek rejoined in first place and continued to extend the lead. At the finish, Jiří Mičánek’s Huracán crossed the line an astonishing 39 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Even Štefan Rosina speaks with humility after the opening races. “We’re satisfied, but we remain humble. This weekend went well for us, and I hope we can continue on the path we’ve started in the upcoming races,” said the Slovak driver, who in both races also outclassed his compatriot Maťo Homola in the KTM by around twenty seconds.
After the opening round of the GT2 European Series, Mičánek Motorsport leads the standings comfortably. The second round of the series will take place in five weeks at the current Formula 1 circuit in Zandvoort, Netherlands.
“After two victories, we’ll certainly have to deal with a higher BoP, which will be another big challenge for us. But I believe we can handle it just as successfully as our debut in the new championship,” concluded Jiří Mičánek.
