TGR Sweden GT4 Toyotas
Two-time GT4 Scandinavia champion Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden will make a full-time switch to the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club this season, bringing with it three Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evos.
The team has already filled two of its three cars, with Emil Skärås and Hans Holmlund continuing a successful partnership aboard the #90 Pro-Am entry, plus father and son duo Mikael Brunnhagen and Christoffer Brunnhagen sharing the #155 Am class car.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden has already shown its potential during the guest events GT4 Scandinavia shared with the full GT4 European Series grid at Spa-Francorchamps, with the team scoring two top-six finishes in class in Belgium last summer.
Skärås and Holmlund have been the stand-out driver pairing in GT4 Scandinavia across recent years, with the duo winning the title in both 2021 and 2023, and notching up a total of 13 race wins across their three years in the championship.
Mikael and Christoffer Brunnhagen made their debut together midway through last year’s GT4 Scandinavia season, but scored an impressive race win along with three class podium finishes from the four rounds they contested.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden has relocated its technical base to Padua, Italy, to offer drivers wanting to develop their skills and take the next step in their careers greater opportunities for testing and training at some of Europe’s best facilities.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden team principal Tobias Johansson says: “We’re really excited about joining the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club full-time this year. We know it will be a big challenge ahead of us, but our goal is always to win, so we’ll be pushing hard across all of our cars and drivers to go for trophies from the start. In Emil and Hans we have two really talented drivers who we know well and who have been very successful in Scandinavia, but they have also shown their speed in this championship. Mikael and Christoffer are very professional to work with, learn fast and have a hunger to improve, so they will be ones to watch. We can’t wait to get the season started.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing Sweden still has places available in its third GR Supra GT4 Evo. Interested drivers should contact team principal Tobias Johansson for more information – tobias@brovallendesign.se
Elite McLarens Return
Elite Motorsport will return to the GT4 European Series for a second shot at success this year with its twin McLaren Arturas.
The British team made its GT4 Europe debut last year, and finished the 2023 season strongly by securing its first overall race victory during the season finale at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in September. The team has also recently been a star in the GT4 Winter Series, with its McLarens racking up four overall and six class race wins and a total of 27 combined outright and class podium finishes.
The two drivers involved in that breakthrough GT4 Europe success in Spain – Tom Emson and Josh Rattican – both return with the team, but each will be alongside a new team-mate.
Emson will be joined by Irishman Alex Denning in one car, with Rattican sharing the second Artura GT4 with Tom Lebbon.
Emson first tested for Elite in 2017 and contested first the Ginetta Junior Championship and then Ginetta GT4 SuperCup with the team, finishing runner-up in 2022. Last year he celebrated a top-10 finish in the GT4 Europe points in his maiden season, and was also a race winner in the UK GT Cup championship.
Denning also returns for a second GT4 Europe campaign, having been a Silver podium finisher twice last year with Elite. Before moving to GT racing he impressed in the UK Mini Challenge championship, finishing second in the points in 2022 with seven race wins to his name.
Rattican has run with Elite since 2020, racing in both Ginetta Junior and the GT4 SuperCup, recording second-place finishes in both championships. He capped an impressive first year of European GT4 racing with that Barcelona victory alongside Emson, meaning the pair took winning momentum into the winter break.
Lebbon is a serial winner, and made his GT4 Europe debut for a one-off appearance with Elite at Hockenheim last year. UK Ginetta Junior champion with the team back in 2020, Lebbon then went on to finish third in the single-seater GB3 Championship before contesting the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. Most recently he helped Elite to six GT4 Winter Series wins from 18 races, securing third in the points.
Elite Motorsport head Eddie Ives says: “We are all really excited by the two super-fast pairings that we’ve put together in the McLarens for the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club this year.
“I am very proud that we are continuing relationships with Tom [Emson], Josh [Rattican] & Tom [Lebbon] who, between them, have completed 13 years of racing representing Elite Motorsport. Joining them is Alex, who fitted into our team really well last year.
“We learnt a lot about the McLaren Artura last season, which showed when we claimed a win and second-place in the final event at Barcelona. I feel that we have the expertise and the drivers to ensure front-running results in 2024 in what is, by far, the most competitive GT4 grid in the world.
“I would like to personally thank Entire Race Engineering for their continued support as team sponsors. I also want to thank McLaren for their pro-activeness with our association.”
PROsport Aston Martins
PROsport Racing has confirmed the four drivers that will tackle this year’s GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club, with each car featuring a proven winner teamed with a rising star.
The German team will run twin Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4s this year for its first full-season return since 2022, with some familiar names mixed with young talent across both cars.
PROsport regular and two-time ADAC GT4 Germany champion Hugo Sasse returns and will be partnered by 17-year-old Raphael Rennhofer in the first car, while Hendrik Still will lead the second car alongside German teenager Fabio Rauer.
Sasse has a superb record in GT4 competition around Europe since graduating to GT racing in 2021. He won the GT4 Germany title in both 2022 and 2023 and was also firmly in the fight for the GT4 European Series title in 2022, winning three races in a PROsport Aston on his way to third in the final points.
Austrian Rennhofer is new to the GT4 European Series and only made his GT4 debut last year after switching from a successful karting career. He gained experience with PROsport in GT4 Germany and has also been a regular in the recent GT4 Winter Series.
Still has marked himself out as a driver to watch in the GT4 European Series across recent seasons after spending two seasons racing a W&S Motorsport Porsche. He and former team-mate Max Kronberg secured podium finishes in 2022, then went on to become outright race winners last season on their way to third in the Pro-Am championship. He’s also been a race winner in GT4 Germany and the Porsche Endurance Trophy.
Rauer, is also fresh to GT racing after competing in European karting. He made his first steps into car racing in the German Tourenwagen Junior Cup in 2022, winning one race before moving to GT4 Germany last season. He has completed multiple test days with PROsport across the winter to prepare for his European GT racing debut.
PROsport team boss Chris Esser says: “Logically we could have put Hugo and Hendrik together in one car to fight for the title again. But for us this makes no sense after winning GT4 championships in 2022 and 2023 we find it much more attractive that both our experienced drivers are combined with young talents, then we have two cars to go on the hunt for the title.”
Chazel BMW
Reigning GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club Pro-Am champion Gregory Guilvert will switch to Chazel Technologie Course to defend his title this season, sharing the team’s new BMW M4 GT4 with Antoni de Barn.
Chazel had already confirmed it will run an Alpine A110 GT4 Evo for Alpine Cup champion Lorens Lecertua and Jean-Mathieu Leandri, but the team will now run twin brands with the addition of the new M4 on the other side of the garage.
Guilvert needs little introduction to fans of the GT4 European Series, having raced regularly in the championship since 2017. Across that time he has amassed a huge haul of trophies, including Pro-Am class titles in both 2021 and 2023. However, both those championships came at the wheel of Saintéloc Junior Team Audis, so the move to a BMW with Chazel will be a new challenge for the highly decorated French driver.
Alongside Guilvert in the Pro-Am entry will be de Barn, who graduates from the FFSA French GT Championship to tackle the GT4 European Series this year. He has also previously raced with Chazel in the Alpine Cup.
Matmut Évolution Toyotas
The Matmut Évolution team will make its GT4 European Series debut this year, fielding twin Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evos, with one car featuring the reigning French GT4 champions and the other an all-female driver line-up.
The team made its competition debut last season in the FFSA French GT Championship, and secured both the Silver drivers’ and teams’ championships with Etienne Cheli and Enzo Joulié, as well as securing third in the Pro-Am Teams’ standings.
For 2024 the team will expand into the GT4 European Series, fielding two of the latest-generation Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evos.
Cheli and Joulié will aim to continue their successful partnership and challenge for the European Silver crown, while Matmut will continue its tradition of promoting all-female driver pairings with Gabriela Jilkova and Cindy Gudet sharing the sister car in the Pro-Am class.
Cheli has been a regular frontrunner in both the French and European GT4 championships in recent years. He made his GT4 Europe debut back in 2022 and last year was twice a race winner with the Xwift Racing Events team on his way to fourth in the Silver points. He backed that up with combining with Joulié to claim the Silver French GT4 title, the pair scoring three victories to seal the crown in their first season with Matmut.
Joulié is also a familiar name in GT4 Europe, having narrowly missed the 2022 championship during a dramatic season finale at Barcelona when driving the NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG. Last year he competed in a Borusan Otomotive Motorsport-run BMW and was also a podium finisher in ADAC GT4 Germany, as well as lifting the French title alongside Cheli.
Jilkova returns to the GT4 European Series for the first time since 2022 when she competed in a Drago Racing by ZVO Mercedes-AMG. Last year she was a vital part of Matmut’s French GT4 success, securing six podium finishes on her way to third in the Pro-Am points. She has also been a race winner in the German Prototype Cup and GT Winter Series.
Gudet is a new face to the championship and to GT4 racing. Instead, she has an impressive background in hillclimb, rallying and ice racing. She is a six-time French Hillclimb [Championnat de France de la Montagne] champion and will make her GT racing debut with Matmut this season. An FFSA ambassador in 2023, integrated into their plan of feminising motorsport, Cindy is dedicated to promoting motorsport competition to young girls. She fits perfectly into the ‘Volant Matmut 100% Féminin’ programme (Matmut 100% female driver), and the commitment of Groupe Matmut in favour of the representation of women in male-dominated professions.
Matmut Évolution team boss Jérôme Policand says: “Last season marked a real change of direction in terms of sporting, commercial and technical aspects by working with a new manufacturer. We had to ‘learn’ to run the Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo as best we could, and in the end, it worked out pretty well. The results were more than satisfying and the technical collaboration with Toyota was perfect.
“The 2024 programme in the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club is a continuity of what has already been accomplished. This championship is a concentration of the best in European GT4. The level is very high, the competition fierce, and the line-up is very strong. The defending champions of the Silver Cup France title (Etienne Cheli and Enzo Joulié) and our new 100% female crew will be confronting the best in each category. Reaching the top level of the discipline makes perfect sense and the team is highly motivated to take up this new challenge.”
Speedcar Audis
Team Speedcar’s multi-coloured Audis will return to the GT4 European Series this season after the team confirmed it will run up to three cars across the year, with frontrunners Robert Consani and Benjamin Lariche returning for another shot at the championship.
The French squad’s brightly coloured Audi R8 LMS GT4s have been stars of the championship across recent seasons, with Consani and Lariche finishing second in the Silver points last year after celebrating one win and seven podium finishes. That duo will be back for a fourth consecutive season, having made their GT4 Europe debut as a pairing back in 2021.
Consani has been a regular frontrunner in both French and European GT4 over recent years, after switching from a successful rallying career in 2016. He was second in GT4 Europe in 2017 in a Ginetta, and third in French GT4 in 2020.
Lariche started his career in single-seaters, climbing as high as competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship before moving into GT racing for 2012. Since then he has raced in FIA GT1, the Porsche Carrera Cup France and Blancpain GT Series before starting his long-term partnership with Consani in both French and European GT4.
Team Speedcar will also field an Am class entry for Julien Ripert and Philippe Thalamy, who both have backgrounds in rallying, plus Adrien Paviot and Nicolas Markiewicz will share a third R8 in the Am class during select events this season.
Paviot returns to GT4 racing after a season away competing in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie with a BMW. He and Markiewicz contested a single FFSA French GT round in 2022 with a Team Speedcar-run Ginetta G55. Before that Paviot has been a champion in the Formula France Coupe de France FFSA, and gained experience competing in the NASCAR Euro Series.
Markiewicz completes the all-French line-up, and has shared with Paviot in numerous events before, including the FFSA French GT Championship and at the Nürburgring. Both will be making their GT4 European Series debuts this season.
“We have two and a half cars completed for the season,” Team Speedcar head Pascal Destembert told Endurance-Info. “Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani continue in the Audi with the firm intention of fighting for the Silver title. Julien Ripert and Philippe Thalamy, who are both arriving from the rally, are entered in Am. The third Audi will be for Adrien Paviot and Nicolas Markiewicz at several meetings.”
The Paviot/Markiewicz Audi is currently set for all rounds except Misano and Spa, which leaves the third car available for those events.
Wimmer Werk Porsches
Wimmer Werk Motorsport will make its GT4 European Series debut this season and will field Emil Heyerdahl and Nick Maloy aboard its first Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS GT4.
The Austrian team is gearing up to run twin Porsches in the Silver class this year, with Norwegian Heyerdahl and American Maloy teaming up in the first complete entry.
Heyerdahl brings with him an impressive racing CV. He began his car racing career in Formula STCC Nordic, winning the championship on his second attempt in 2018. Since then he has achieved a fourth in class finish in the 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, was GT3 Cup champion in his first year of the ClubSport Series and claimed the 24 Hour Series TCR class championship in 2021. He’s also been a race winner in the Nürburgring-based Langstrecken Serie and made his GT4 European Series debut in a handful of races with Mirage Racing last season.
American Maloy will be making his full-season European racing debut this year, having graduated from the Skip Barber Formula at the end of last season. He’s been gaining mileage with Wimmer Werk by contesting the GT4 Winter Series in the team’s Porsche, recording three podium finishes and a fastest lap so far.
The second Wimmer Werk Porsche sees Ivan Ekelchik and Nicolaj Møller Madsen combine in Silver Cup.
Ekelchik started his GT racing career after switching from karting in 2023. He contested his first season of GT4 European Series with Sorg Rennsport, scoring one podium finish, while also competing in the German GT4 Championship to gain mileage with Wimmer Werk. He also contested the recent GT4 Winter Series with the Austrian team, scoring three Pro-Am wins and eight podium finishes on his way to second in the class points.
Danish ace Møller Madsen boats a huge racing CV, including class wins in the Bathurst 12 Hours, a class podium in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and second place in the 2016 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint Cup. He has raced regularly in European GT4 since 2016 when he finished third in the Pro-Am standings. He later won the championship outright in a Phoenix Racing Audi in 2018 as well as finishing third in Pro-Am in 2020 with Allied-Racing.
