SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm continued their strong start to life in the GT4 European Series at Monza, as Enrico Förderer and Cedric Fuchs built off their win on debut at Circuit Paul Ricard with a double-victory aboard their #111 Mercedes-AMG GT4.
In Race 1, defending drivers’ champions Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani looked set to extend their strong form at Monza, however a late gearbox issue put Consani out of the race lead, and opened the door for the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG, which resisted heavy pressure from the TeamFloral Ford Mustang shared by Sam Paley and Mihiel Haverans.
Lariche started on pole but was immediately out-dragged into Turn 1 by the flying Academy Motorsport Mustang of Cameron McLeod, which rocketed alongside the #1 Audi from the fourth row of the grid. McLeod nearly bagged the lead in one move, but Yani Stevenheydens held the inside line for the second part of the chicane to briefly head the pack in his Elite McLaren, before the Mustang’s sheer grunt put McLeod past. That was the start of Stevenheydens’ troubles as the McLaren’s lack of straight-line pace meant it slipped gradually down the order.
Lariche found a way through to chase McLeod and looked set to inherit the lead when the Mustang was judged to have infringed start regulations and was hit with a 10-second penalty. McLeod’s attempts to get away and limit the penalty were also thwarted when the #4 Speedy Motorsport Supra was tipped around exiting Ascari, making heavy contact with the barriers and summoning the safety car.
When racing resumed, Förderer made his move. The #111 Mercedes-AMG had run fifth early on but a lightning restart and a superb undercut on Lariche out of Turn 2 helped the German driver slot into second by the pit window.
Lariche was the first of the lead pack to pit, handing to Consani from third, and he emerged in second behind Fuchs once all stops had been completed and the Mustang of McLeod/Marco Signoretti had served its penalty.
Racing was then interrupted again after a dramatic collision involving Clement Seyler’s Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin, Lucas Cartelle’s CRT-Sport Supra and Paul Petit’s Team Speedcar Audi shuffled the podium fight. While Seyler was out on the spot, both Cartelle and Petit managed to continue, but a second safety car was needed to clear up the chaos.
This gave Consani his chance to close in, and at the restart he drafted past Fuchs to grab the lead, only for his Audi’s gearbox to cry enough soon after and put him out.
That handed Fuchs back a lead he wouldn’t lose, despite the best efforts of the TeamFloral Mustang of Haverans and Paley, which had picked its way through from ninth on the grid. Haverans attacked as hard as he could, but Fuchs held on to secure the win by 0.1 seconds.
Cartelle recovered from his hit from the Aston to claim third, with Petit somehow following him home despite his Audi suffering heavy rear damage in the same incident.
Lotus PB Racing’s Massimiliano Schiavone and Maurizio Copetti claimed a breakthrough Pro-Am win on home ground after a fine opening stint that included a fastest lap of the race for Schiavone helped the car climb the order. That left Copetti in a tight fight with the points-leading Schubert Motorsport BMW of Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde, with Copetti just getting the better of Walde at the flag by 0.6s. The Ebimotors Porsche of Riccardo Pera and Paolo Gnemmi finished third on the road but was handed a 30-second penalty post-race for contact, leaving Paolo and Davide Meloni’s W&D Motorsport BMW to complete the class podium.
Max Kronberg and Daniel Blickle were never really challenged in Am, with the #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche pulling well clear of Julien Ripert’s Team Speedcar Audi and the Gazoo Racing Sweden Supra shared by Christoffer and Mikael Brunnhagen.
Fuchs and Förderer then further extended their drivers’ championship lead with another victory in Race 2, as they took full advantage of a penalty for on-the-road winners Consani and Lariche.
After losing their shot at victory to a mechanical issue in Race 1, Team Speedcar’s Consani and Lariche got a second chance from pole, and Consani didn’t waste it by leading the pack through Turn 1 as the sister Audi of Paul Petit slotted into second ahead of Georgi Dimitrov’s CMR Ginetta, which gave Petit a barge after going into the first apex too hot.
Racing was interrupted for the first time when the #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche and #11 Borusan BMW tangled on the run to Della Roggia, bringing out the safety car. Petit’s Audi was clearly feeling the effects of its early hit and suffered a puncture soon after racing resumed, which took Petit out of the running.
Consani began to pull clear of Dimitrov, who was handed a 10-second penalty for the early clash, but the pack was soon bunched again following an airborne accident for Daniel Blickle after he lost control heading into Della Roggia, clipped the #5 Mirage GR Supra and rolled. Both drivers escaped injury.
The resulting cleanup delayed the pit window, with Consani opting to stop later than his rivals once it did finally open. However, when he did his #1 Audi was pinged for speeding in the pits, so while Lariche rejoined back in the lead, a 10-second penalty was headed his way.
Fuchs had kept the #111 Mercedes-AMG inside the top four before handing to Förderer, who rejoined right in the middle of a great fight with McLeod’s Mustang, Dimitrov’s team-mate Jack Mitchell and Viny Beltramelli’s Pro-Am leading Team Speedcar Audi, which had rejoined second after a strong stint from Sacha Bottemanne helped the car run third by the pit window.
With the sister Audi acting as a buffer for Lariche, the pressure was on Förderer to pick his way through and by the time he finally cleared the R8, Lariche held a 9.4s lead. However, in clean air Förderer reduced the gap so Lariche fell just over a second shy of victory.
McLeod and Signoretti fought their way past the second Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG shared by Marcel Marchewicz and Julien Apotheloz to complete the podium, with Hudson Schwartz and Lucas Cartelle fifth in their CRT-Sport Toyota. Charlie Hart and McKenzy Cresswell were sixth in the #78 Elite McLaren, with Beltramelli and Bottemanne seventh after extra time for their own pit lane speeding offence was added on.
They were still a few places clear of Schubert Motorsport’s consistent BMW in the hands of Pro-Am points leaders Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde. After losing their Race 1 podium to a post-race penalty, Ebimotors drivers Riccardo Pera and Paolo Gnemmi celebrated third this time around in the #151 Porsche. After Blickle’s exit, Ripert finished well clear of Mikael and Christoffer Brunnhagen’s GR Sweden Supra to score his first Am class win of the year and give Team Speedcar a class double.
After his closest rival Am rival Daniel Blickle was eliminated from the race aboard the #30 Porsche, Julien Ripert finished well clear of Mikael and Christoffer Brunnhagen’s GR Sweden Supra to score his first Am class win of the year and give Team Speedcar a class double.
The 2026 GT4 European Series continues with round three, on the support bill of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, from 25th to 27th June 2026.
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
