Razoon – More Than Racing snatched the GTX runners-up spot at this past weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA with less than 10 minutes to go after being delayed significantly earlier in the event by brake failure, an on-track collision, AND a full engine change.

The Austrian team, the GTX winner of last year’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA, led the GTX class comfortably after two hours only to lose more than an hour in the pits shortly afterwards following an on-track collision with eventual winner Herberth Motorsport. Having repaired the damage, and even recovered to 2nd in-class shortly before half-distance, the #714 KTM X-BOX GTX was brought back into the garage for a further three hours later on with engine failure. 

Despite its significant time loss, driveshaft problems for category rival Vortex V8 meant that, incredibly, Razoon – More Than Racing was able to re-take 2nd in-class with just four laps of the 24-hour Catalan race remaining. 

Having qualified comfortably on GTX pole to the tune of 1.3 seconds – courtesy of Artur Chwist, Daniel Drexel and Simon Birch, who drove with Simon Birch in Barcelona – Razoon – More Than Racing had already pulled two laps clear of both Vortex 2.0s as the race entered its third hour. But in a bizarre incident, Christian Loimayr clipped the back of Herberth Motorsport’s Porsche on the approach to the turn seven/eight chicane before burying the KTM’s nose in the tyre barriers, a clash the team later attributed to brake failure. An hour and 20 minutes were lost in the pits to the repairs, alongside a 30-second time penalty for causing the collision (Herberth Motorsport managed to survive unscathed, cosmetic damage aside). 

Despite the delay, an intermittent vibration through the steering, AND a left rear puncture, Razoon had already recovered to 2nd in-class by the 10th hour and pulled back 27 of its enormous 58-lap deficit to the leading Vortex 2.0 (#701). Unfortunately, at two-thirds distance, the Audi engine let go, bringing Daniel back onto pitroad for, what would be, a complete, three-hour engine and gearbox change.  

Razoon – More Than Racing was given a reprieve with just under three hours left to run however when the second Vortex 2.0 (#702) ground to a halt with driveshaft failure. The now-black-nosed KTM ultimately swept through to take the GTX runners-up spot in Barcelona with less than 10 minutes left on the clock. 

Alongside a hectic race with the #714 KTM, Razoon – More Than Racing was also providing technical support for the Apex MP Racing KTM X-BOW GT4 at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA, the latter driven by Petar Matic, Alessio Ruffini, Mihael Ambroz and Lamborghini Squadra Corse driver Milos Pavlovic.

 In the mix early on, and even the outright GT4 leader after pushing its first pit stop to the extreme, Slovenia’s Apex MP Racing eventually slipped back to 6th in-class at the flag following a collision with the Orchid Racing Team Porsche 992 GT3 Cup that left both cars in the turn 13 gravel, and recurrent overheating concerns.

“Of course the technical problems were very annoying, but in the end we are on the podium, and all team members more than deserve it,” team owner Dominik Olbert explains. “Big compliments also to our friends from Apex MP Racing, who drove a very strong and error-free race. We were very pleased that we were allowed to use the KTM X-BOW GT4.”

Already a GTX Teams’ title winner of the 24H SERIES Middle East Trophy in 2022/2023, Razoon – More Than Racing has already registered its KTM X-BOW GTX for both the Michelin 24H DUBAI on 10-11-12 January and the Michelin 6H ABU DHABI on 17-18-19 January.