One step to the title: Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra dominated the Slovakia Ring endurance
The sovereign performance of Jakub Knoll and Josef Záruba in the penultimate round of this year's FIA CEZ Championship at the Slovakia Ring sent the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra team back into the championship lead. Štefan Rosina then battled a strong starting field of GT3 cars in the sprint race in front of the home fans, taking second and third in his class.
"Our goal was to get Kuba and Pepa back to the front of the championship, and we achieved that. We are one step away from winning the title, but we still have a home race ahead of us, in which we must not make any mistakes," said Jiří Mičánek Jr., manager of the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra team. He is referring to the season finale, which takes place in two weeks' time at the Brno Automotodrom. It was here that Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra celebrated the championship and vice-championship titles in sprint last year, and this year Jiří Mičánek would like to follow up with his charges in endurance.
But the road to victory in the GTC class and fifth place in the strong GT3 competition was not easy. "It was very hot, and the race was demanding on the tyres," explained Jakub Knoll, who started Saturday's early evening race. The second stint was completed by Josef Záruba. "Kuba and I rode in our classic symbiosis. The most risky thing was the track condition; a lot of riders made mistakes and got off the track, which had a lot of debris on it. The end was really all about surviving and staying on the track," said Záruba.
Jiří Mičánek sent home racer Štefan Rosina, who otherwise competes in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe series in the colours of the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra team, to the sprints. The experienced matador's goal was to trouble mainly the rivals from the GT3 category, and he succeeded in doing so in the large starting field. On Saturday, he finished the race in third place in the open GTX category, and on Sunday he was second and third overall.
Only Miro Konopka in the Ligier prototype and Adam Konopka in the GT3 specification Lamborghini Huracán were ahead of him. "Thank you to the team for preparing the car like this. And I must also thank the fans who came to support us and created a great atmosphere," said Štefan Rosina, evaluating the weekend in which the domestic drivers dominated the podium.
"I am glad that in all the races we entered, we won or were on the podium. Especially in endurance, this gives us a very good basis for closing this season with another title for our team," said team manager Jiří Mičánek Jr.
