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GT CUP SERIES 2026, RACE WEEKEND 1, RED BULL RING, ENDURANCE RACE: DAY 2 REPORT
It was a spectacular racing Sunday that wrapped up the first weekend of the GT CUP SERIES ’26. At the Red Bull Ring in Austria—a circuit that hosts Formula 1, MotoGP, and DTM races—two Sprint races followed Saturday’s one-hour Endurance race. The 30-car starting grid, linked to the local Austrian GT Championship, treated spectators to a series of battles and two winners.
In the first race, Saturday’s winner, local driver Marius Aigner (KTM X-BOW, MZR Motorsport Zentrum Ried), took the checkered flag, while in the second, Slovakian Miro Konopka (Ligier JS 320 LMP3, ARC Bratislava) was the fastest. The overtaking maneuvers of these competitors were the highlight of both 25-minute races.
In the morning Sprint, Konopka moved into second place in a situation where he could no longer catch Aigner, but in the afternoon he managed to do so earlier, and then a thrilling motorsport show began that lasted several laps. The Austrian and the Slovak passed each other several times, with the Bratislava legend ultimately emerging victorious.
In both races, Czech driver Ondřej Rokos (Mercedes AMG GT2, RTR Projects) was absolutely delighted with third place. He, too, fought several intense battles with Konopka, and in addition to his bronze finish, he was consistently the top driver in the Grand Turismo category as well as the winner of the GTX category.
Another hero of the day was his compatriot Dennis Waszek (Lamborghini Huracan SuperTrofeo, GT2 Motorsport). Due to a brake failure, he was unable to participate in qualifying and therefore started both Sprints from last place, 30th. In the first race, he made it all the way to fourth place overall and third in the GTX category; in the second, he finished seventh and sixth, respectively.
After many years with the beautiful but problematic Pagani Zonda GT1, another Czech racer, Antonín Herbeck, is back in form. He drives a Ferrari 488 GT3 and today secured first a fourth-place finish and then a third-place finish, both in the GTX category. The GT Cup Series championship continues May 15–17 at the Grobnik circuit in Croatia, near the sea and the coastal city of Rijeka.
Press release by Martin Straka
Official results from Race 1 and Race 2:
Sprint Race 1 – Official Results
Sprint Race 2 – Official Results