The third round of the championship delivered one of the most intense races of the season, featuring relentless battles in both GT3 and GT4 and a finale decided in the closing minutes.

Round three of the SIMGEAR GT Masters brought together a full grid of 50 drivers across the GT3 and GT4 classes, with the Sebring circuit turning into a true test of composure, strategy and survival in traffic.

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Qualifying: Ivanov set the benchmark, Hungarians dominated GT4

In GT3 qualifying, Gabriel Ivanov was in a class of his own, securing pole position with a lap of 1:58.062, ahead of Yoan Neshev (1:58.214) and Ivaylo Boychev (1:58.403).

In GT4, the Hungarian drivers once again dictated the pace. Daniel Sztrucska topped the timesheets with 2:09.190, closely followed by Hunor Horchy (2:09.267) and Kamto Chukwureh (2:09.363).

Due to accumulated penalties from the previous two rounds, Alexandar Nikolov Jr. and Dimitar Palauzov started the race with a “no qualifying” penalty for this round.

Start and opening laps: GT3 chaos, calmer GT4 beginning

The race got underway cleanly for both classes, but already in the opening laps GT3 turned into a battlefield. Fierce duels extended all the way down to 15th position, with Yoan Neshev and Ventsislav Raychinov fighting for third place, while behind them Ivaylo Boychev successfully pressured Kris Vrazhilov.

In the midfield, prolonged battles involved Genovski, Kiermeier, Ooms, Sypula, Dimitrov, Kotsev, Tsvetanov and Molarin, making the early phase of the race extremely intense. After around 15 minutes, GT3 cars began catching the GT4 traffic, further increasing the spectacle.

Leadership, misfortune and the decisive final 20 minutes

After the 30-minute mark, Ventsislav Raychinov led comfortably, holding an advantage of around five seconds over Gabriel Ivanov and Yoan Neshev. In GT4, Horchy, Sztrucska and Martin Yankov were locked in a direct fight for the leading positions.

Then came another blow of bad luck for Raychinov. Despite strong pace, an incident in traffic eliminated him from the fight for victory. This opened the door for Ivanov and Neshev, who went on to produce one of the most memorable duels in the history of the championship over the final 20 minutes — clean but aggressive racing, overtakes, minor contacts, pit wall tension, strategic calls and uncertainty right until the final corner.

In the end, Gabriel Ivanov outsmarted his rival to claim victory, while Ivaylo Boychev completed the podium in third place.

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Class victories: PRO-AM, AM and GT4 decided at the flag

In GT3 PRO-AM, Rostislav Kotsev took the win, followed by Maxim Dimitrov, with Belgian driver Joris Ooms finishing third.

In GT3 AM, victory went to Ivaylo Dimitrov, ahead of Hristo Sarkizov and Lazar Katsarski.

In GT4, drama unfolded right to the finish. After a brutal battle to the final laps between teammates from VGTR eSports powered by Hiperspec, Hunor Horchy delivered the decisive move to snatch victory from Daniel Sztrucska, while Martin Yankov secured third place.

What the drivers said

Gabriel Ivanov: “I tried to be the fastest on track and not think about things outside of my control. This was one of the toughest sim racing battles I’ve ever had. Yoan is very talented and was on my rear bumper the entire time.”

Yoan Neshev: “Gabriel defended very well. I felt quicker, but there was simply no place to make a move.”

Ivaylo Boychev: “The last few races were very difficult for me. The fuel-saving strategy paid off in this round. Unfortunately for Raychinov, traffic ruined his race.”

Rostislav Kotsev: “This was one of my best races. I had many battles with PRO drivers, a lot of overtakes, and I really enjoyed the race. I train as much as I can, and we’ll see how the fight in PRO-AM develops.”

Maxim Dimitrov: “I proved that I have the pace both here and in the previous round. At Suzuka it wasn’t there, even though I expected to be strong exactly at that track.”

Ivaylo Dimitrov: “It was very tough, but I’m happy with the result. The beginning was difficult, but later I found my rhythm and with a bit of luck managed to take the win.”

Hunor Horchy: “I knew Daniel was as fast as me, maybe even faster. I took the risk at the end and that decided everything. GT3 traffic makes GT4 battles extremely difficult.”

Looking ahead: a pause before the decisive fourth round of SIMGEAR GT Masters

With this race, the 2025 season of SIMGEAR GT Masters comes to a close, followed by an almost one-month break. The fourth round at Mount Panorama is scheduled for January 11, 2026, where the championship fight is set to escalate once again.