25 drivers, three hours of action, and a clear sign of the battles to come
The first free practice session at Suzuka set the tone for tomorrow’s season opener in the SIMGEAR GT Masters. A total of 25 drivers — 17 in GT3 and 8 in GT4 — completed the three-hour session in foggy, overcast conditions with temperatures slightly above 20°C and light wind. Similar weather is expected for race day.
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GT3: Rookie Vitanov tops the timesheets
The second half of the session saw the appearance of championship rookie Velin Vitanov, representing Negative Delta by iLiveries. Making his first official start in the SIMGEAR GT Masters, he set the fastest lap of the entire session with a 1:57.341 in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 2020, completing only 14 laps.
Right behind him was last year’s runner-up Ventsislav Raychinov, driving the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO for Negative Delta by SimGear.bg, clocking a 1:57.549. Third place went to Nikolas Stanev of Negative Delta by Madness, also with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, posting a 1:57.637.
GT3 debuts were made by Hristo Sarkizov and Animir Georgiev for Spark, as well as Jack Tolchard from the United Kingdom in a Ferrari 296 GT3 and Nikolas Nikos from Bulgaria in a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
GT4: Martin Yankov starts the new season the way he ended the last
In GT4, last year’s champion Martin Yankov once again stood clearly above the rest. Driving the BMW M4 G82 GT4 Evo, he set the benchmark with a 2:17.476, completing 34 laps and showing consistent race-ready pace.
Second place went to Kevin Aebi from Switzerland (Maffi Racing) in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 with a 2:10.321. The pair delivered the highlight of the session by running several close laps nose-to-tail in the final minutes, hinting at an intense battle in tomorrow’s race.
Aebi’s teammate Dylan Stebler also joined the session, making his SIMGEAR GT Masters debut in a Mercedes-AMG GT4. Additional GT4 newcomers included Florentin Hattemer in a BMW M4 G82 (registered only for this round) and Norbert Mark Hegyi from Hungary with a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR, who unfortunately could not set a lap due to technical issues and spent the session in the pits.
Tomorrow the season begins
Tomorrow marks the official start of the SIMGEAR GT Masters season. You can watch the race live on our YouTube channel from 17:20 UTC and follow our social media for all updates.
