Carrie Schreiner begins GTWC Europe season at Paul Ricard
- MIKA BÖCKER
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
Carrie Schreiner kicked off her new racing programme in GT World Challenge Europe with a promising drive, finishing the 6 hours of Paul Ricard just outside the Bronze class top ten.
In the toughest GT3 racing series in the world, Carrie Schreiner kicked off her new main racing programme with a drive into the night to overcome some difficulties, finishing a nevertheless promising 6 hours of Paul Ricard just outside the Bronze class top ten.
The full force of GTWC Europe was evident right from qualifying. The Tresor Attempto Racing Team, led by Carrie Schreiner, managed to stay in the top half of the overall standings at the very beginning of qualifying, with minimal gaps before the they were pushed further down by the Gold and Pro classes. In the end, the team would start from 48th place overall and 10th in class.
At 6:00 PM local time, the rolling start of the race went awry: several cars collided in the midfield before the first corner, spinning and crashing into the concrete wall. Schreiner was fortunate and skilled enough to avoid all the trouble. Her cautious approach meant that she could gain one position overall, however losing another place within the Bronze Cup. Further collisions and minor skirmishes occurred in the following corners, though with less impact. The start-line crash nevertheless triggered the first Safety Car period and numerous pit stops for repairs.
The race restarted after 16 minutes, and Schreiner was already back in the fray battling Olbert in the #914 Porsche for tenth place in the Bronze Cup. On the Paul Ricard circuit, where overtaking is generally difficult, she couldn't find a way past, but she managed to set significantly faster lap times whenever a gap opened up.
After about 10 minutes, their battle was interrupted when cars from other classes, which had made early pit stops for repairs, fought their way back to the front. Olbert and Schreiner dropped back in the overall standings, and the gap between the two Bronze teams widened. With a clear track, Schreiner was however able to set faster lap times again, but a change in position within the class was at that point more challenging. After three laps, she managed to improve her overall position by one place. However, Mendler from the Silver Cup once again positioned himself between the two Bronze teams.
Schreiner then had to defend against the rapidly closing Winward Mercedes towards the end of her first stint; this car was among the fastest on track at this stage of the race and therefore could overtake the young German driver after 50 minutes.
Schreiner made her first pit stop on the last possible lap, after more than an hour of driving. Despite the tough race, she stayed in the car and thus begun her season with a double stint. After the stop, she lost some time in traffic and dropped back to 50th overall; however, she maintained a consistent pace and was able to benefit from cars encountering problems, such as the Rutronik Lamborghini.
After her second stint, Daniele Di Amato took over the #88 Audi. The stop went smoothly, and he rejoined in 48th place overall, unfortunately still outside the top ten of the Bronze Cup. The Italian driver was at this point a bit quicker than the other cars in class and, after 78 laps, he overtook Hull and was only 13 seconds behind the #914 Porsche, behind which Schreiner was also stuck. This would mean 11th place in the Bronze Cup. In the following laps, he managed to close the gap to the Porsche significantly, at times by over a second per lap, but he too was slowed down by the lapping cars of the top class.
Schreiner meanwhile gave her initial feedback on her debut, summarizing that she's glad to have survived her driving time, but also enjoyed the seat time. However, she wasn't entirely satisfied with herself: "I lost too much time in traffic and wasn't good at overtaking," she admitted. "It's difficult to distinguish the different classes in traffic. [...] As a Nordschleife veteran, I thought I was quite good in traffic, but here it's something completely different."
Nevertheless, she offered a hopeful outlook for the season. “I think if we improve over the season, we can reach the top 5 in our class,” and she isn’t too pessimistic about the current situation either. “I didn’t think I’d come here and have everything sorted out; nothing is handed to you here. I know we’ll improve over the season.”
“For me, it was always a bit unrealistic to race here; it’s practically the Champions League of GT3 racing, the best drivers compete here. Even Bortolotti, who won the DTM two years ago, was already at the back today. That shows how tough and close it is.”
A comparison to her previous experiences in GT3 racing also highlighted the demanding nature of this challenge. In the ADAC GT Masters, a stint typically lasts half an hour, while in the GTWC Endurance races, each stint lasts one hour. She is however looking forward to the season with excitement, but also a touch of nervousness. The highlight, in particular, is the 24 Hours of Spa: "Another new challenge, driving two 24-hour races,“ she remarked, alluding to the Nürburgring 24 Hours, where she competes with the all-female team Girls Only.
Meanwhile, Di Amato continued to work his way up the field, moving up to 45th overall and 10th in his class. The Rutronik Lamborghini retired with technical problems, giving the team another place in the overall standings. The chase continued, but the gaps were now larger and remained until the end of the allotted stint time.
For the final two hours, Alberto Di Folco took over the car. He too drove at a consistently high pace and was able to gain further positions in the overall standings. Proof that pure speed isn’t everything was demonstrated by the fact that the team made fewer mistakes than its competitors in other classes. Thus, the Tresor Attempto Racing Team finished 42nd overall, remaining just outside the top ten of the Bronze Cup.
Towards the end of the race, the positions seemed to be settling in, and no further changes appeared likely for a long time. This changed when the #93 Porsche broke down, triggering first a full course yellow and then a safety car. The field bunched up again, and the cards were reshuffled.
Only about half an hour remained: despite all their efforts, the team however couldn’t make any further progress. As a result, they ultimately finished in 43rd place overall and narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish in the Bronze Cup, coming in 11th in their class.
For Schreiner herself, the next race weekend is already scheduled for April 17th to 19th, 2026, as part of the 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers. Her next race in the GT World Challenge Europe series will be from May 29th to 31st at Monza.
