Misano 12-hour endurance race upcoming
23/05/2025
Debut in 24-hour endurance race in Barcelona this week
24/09/2025Victory in 12-H Paul Ricard
10 July 2025
After an unsuccessful and technically challenging first three stages, Valters Zviedris and the “Mühlner Motorsport” team finally put their failures aside and won the “992” class in the “12H Paul Ricard” endurance race last weekend, climbing onto the podium for the first time this season in the “24H Series”.
Latvia’s leading racing driver, as usual, started the race in France together with Estonian Martin Rump, who were joined again by German driver Julian Hanses after missing one stage. The weekend did not start according to plan for the young trio, because at the beginning of Friday’s practice, with Rump at the wheel, the rear wheel of their Porsche 911 GT3 CUP race car broke.
“We didn’t really do a single lap in practice, because Martin’s rear wheel broke at the very beginning, damaging many other parts, and practice was over before it even started. The car was repaired, qualifying came and, despite the lack of practice, we set pretty good lap times, winning second place in class. I was also satisfied with my performance, as I managed to complete a good lap and understood where and how much to turn the “kerbs” and jump over them. And I must also praise the team, who, without practice, had already hit the right settings at the beginning of qualifying,” comments Valters Zviedris on the practice and qualifying day.
It should be noted that a total of 32 teams took to the start line in the “12H Paul Ricard” competition, ten of which were in the “992” class. “The day of the race arrived with very high air temperatures, as it was already 35 degrees at nine o’clock in the morning. The sequence of the drivers was as follows – Martins first, Julian second and I third. Martin had a very good start and took the lead in the class. During his first “stint”, he dropped to second place, but after the first hour and a half, we were only 10 seconds behind the leaders. Julian regained the lead and passed it on to me, which I managed to hold and even break away from my competitors a little,” the Latvian pilot describes the first part of the race.
The race in France turned out to be a real test for both the car and the drivers, due to the extreme heat. “The craziest thing about this heat was that the tires were practically gone after 20 minutes on the track, so we had to be very careful with the rear tires so that they wouldn’t wear out unnecessarily and would last at least an hour and a half on the track. The other thing was the heat in the car, as 35 degrees outside meant it was 60 degrees inside. The biggest challenge was staying focused and maintaining good lap times for an hour and a half in this heat. Such a psychological fight with yourself, because your body says “it’s too hot, step aside”, but you know that you can’t let yourself, the team and the supporters down, and you have to ride until the end of your “stint”. It was very challenging, but all three of us pilots managed to cope with it. The drivers from other teams also admitted that this was the most physically difficult race they have ever raced in,” said Valters, for whom the drink system didn’t work in his first “stint” and he had to survive an hour and a half without water.
Throughout the race, the “Mühlner Motorsport” team pilots kept a good pace and were almost always the fastest in the class, and all the right decisions were made in terms of strategy. “Speed, strategy, pit stops – everything worked out great and we did an excellent job together. Towards the very end, we had to make one extra pit stop to refuel, but in the end, as “Code 60” came and we didn’t lose too much time on this extra refueling, we maintained the lead and won,” the Latvian driver describes the course and conclusion of the race.
“Overall, I am incredibly happy, this was very important for both me and the team. Looking at the whole season, we had deserved this for a long time and finally got the win. I am proud of my teammates and the team that we finally managed to do it. Despite the victory, after an unsuccessful start to the season, we are currently in 5th place in the overall standings, but we are still fighting for the top three and with some luck there is also a chance to win the class during the season, because there will be double points in the next round. The next and final round of the season will be the 24-hour race at the Barcelona F1 track, which I definitely want to compete in, because it would be my first 24-hour race in my career. Unfortunately, the engine failure experienced in the previous round, which happened when I ignored the warning light, has put a serious dent in the budget, and currently there are no more funds to go to the start at the end of the season in Barcelona. We are working on finding a budget and being able to end the season with this special race,” Valters Zviedris outlines the conclusion of the season.
The Latvian pilot would like to thank his supporters for making it possible to compete in the “24H Series” championship this season: “Many thanks to my reliable partners who are with me – “Baltijas Sporta Auto – Porsche Latvija”, “Optibet Latvija”, “iPS Media”, “Industry Service Partner”, Jūrmala, “Blue Shock Race”, “Joker klubs”, “Energolukss”, “I-Con” and SIA “Dārta”.”
In conclusion, Valters mentions that “all three drivers are motivated to compete in 24-hour races and show their speed and endurance in this longest test of the season. Also, driving at night would be a new experience that we definitely want to experience. We will look for a budget and hopefully we will meet the team again at the end of September in Spain.”
More information about the “24H Series” championship is available on their website www.24hseries.com, while you can follow Valters Zviedris’ racing progress on his social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram.
Photos by: Mühlner Motorsport
Information prepared by: Arturs Virbulis
>>
In Latvian –
