New racing season starts at Abu Dhabi F1 track
15/01/2025
Full season ahead in 24H Series
13/03/2025Class victory in the Abu Dhabi 6-hour endurance race
21 January 2025
On Sunday, 19 January 2025, the “24H Series” championship Abu Dhabi six-hour endurance race was held at the “Yas Marina” F1 track, in which 50 teams and more than 150 drivers took part. Latvian racing driver Valters Zviedris, together with Estonian driver Martin Rump, started as part of the Belgian team “Mühlner Motorsport” and won the “992” class, in which participants compete with the latest generation “Porsche 911 GT3 CUP” cars.
The Abu Dhabi six-hour race was like the second stage in the “Middle East Trophy” series, in which almost as many participants took part in the start as in the Dubai 24-hour race held a week ago. The Latvian driver represented the “992” class, which included 14 teams, including several strong Valter’s competitors from last season’s “Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux” championship.
In qualifying, the “Mühlner Motorsport” team finished in 2nd place in the class and started the race from 27th place overall. Rump was the first to get behind the wheel, who got involved in exciting battles with several other “992” class representatives in the first laps of the race. Before going to the pits for the first driver change, the team was in 2nd place in the class, but Valters managed to move up to the lead during his drive. After almost two hours, the Estonian took over the wheel again and further increased his lead over his competitors. In the final hour and a half, Valters sat behind the wheel again and, showing fast and stable lap times, reached the finish line as first in the class and 17th place overall.
“The season has started off great with a victory in a very special race! This was the first time for Martin and me at this track, so we are especially happy with the result we achieved. This victory was also special for the “Mühlner Motorsport” team, because last season was not the easiest for them, the same for me. There was an excellent atmosphere in the team’s pits throughout the weekend, the car was very well prepared and we are happy with the good cooperation,” said Valters Zviedris about the victory and the great teamwork.
“We were very positive going into the race, because we knew that we had the speed and would be able to fight for the top positions. And then the strategy was important, the right decisions during “Code 60” and quick pit stops. It is very rare to run an endurance race without mistakes, so it was a great pleasure that we managed to be both fast and stable. Another important element was the traffic, because almost every lap someone had to be overtaken or passed, and it was important to lose as little time as possible in these maneuvers. Of course, you also had to think about your driving style so that the tires would last an hour and a half until the next pit stop,” the Latvian driver explains the key to the victory.
Valters emphasizes that the start of this competition and the rest of the season would not have been possible without his supporters: “Many thanks to my partners “Baltijas Sporta Auto – Porsche Latvija”, “Optibet Latvija”, “iPS Media”, “Industry Service Partner”, Jūrmala, “Blue Shock Race”, “Joker klubs”, “Energolukss”, “I-Con” and SIA “Dārta”, without them it would not have been possible to start the season so successfully.” The Latvian pilot continues that “the track was very impressive both in terms of driving and infrastructure, and the championship itself and the competition were at a very high level. This is my second time participating in the “24H Series” series and my second podium, this time on the highest step. We have started 2025 successfully and after the race it is now time to sit down and understand the further plans. The offers coming from the teams are to continue competing in endurance races, so we will definitely work on making it a success”.
It should be noted that last weekend, another Latvian driver Tomass Štolcermanis also competed in the “F4 Middle East” championship in Abu Dhabi, who won his first “F4” victory in the second race and added another podium in the third race. After the race, the two Latvian motorsports drivers managed to meet, take a group photo and discuss their great success on the famous F1 track.
You can follow Valters Zviedris’ racing progress on his social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram.
Photos by: 24H Series
Information prepared by: Arturs Virbulis
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In Latvian –
https://www.jurmala.lv/lv/jaunums/autosportists-zviedris-sezonu-sak-ar-uzvaru
