GT4 Winter Series: Luisa Kahler makes GT4 debut at Estoril

18-year-old Luisa Kahler completed her first racing weekend in GT4 machinery, entering the GT4 Winter Series opener at Estoril, where she secured two runner up finishes in the Cayman Trophy class and an overall top ten in the endurance contest.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin

Luisa Kahler, 18, completed her first racing weekend in GT4 competitions as she entered the GT4 Winter Series opener at Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, Estoril, where she secured two runner up finishes in the Cayman Trophy class and an overall top ten in the endurance contest.

Kahler joined the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Racing and piloted the #111 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport machine, shared with Michael Sander, in the first round of the championship promoted by Gedlich Winter Series, which has developed into one of the main winter opportunities for racing drivers across single seaters, prototypes, GT3 and GT4 platforms.

It was a weekend of learning for the young German racer, who made significant progress in every session, including a very solid final stint in the 60-minute endurance race on Sunday where she battled for the class win until the final minutes.

Kahler started karting in 2019, aged 13, but quickly made her way up and in 2023 she made the step up to touring cars, winning the BMW M2 Cup shootout. In her rookie campaign on the DTM support package, Luisa emerged as the best female driver and improved consistently. "That opened the doors for me for further opportunities in motorsports", she said. "In 2024 I was able to experience the Green Hell and I got my Permit-A, which will definitely help me in the future."

"2025 will be a very big step for me", she continued, as she prepared to make her GT4 debut. "This will be a completely new experience. But I am confident that I will manage it well and I am beyond grateful for this opportunity", Luisa added, thanking her family and sponsors, Simracing Center Essen and Mini Racetracks, for the support.

Her Portuguese week started with three collective testing sessions on both Thursday and Friday, where Luisa improved on each outing and at every lap completed.

"Thursday and Friday were test days, giving me the opportunity to familiarize myself with the car and the track", she told us. "It was a completely new experience for me. I continuously improved with every lap I drove, and this was reflected in my lap times."

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin

On Saturday morning, cars hit the track for the official practice session, where the #111 Porsche led the Cayman Trophy class standings and was tenth overall. It was then time to tackle her first qualifying session of the season, with Michael Sander taking over driving duties for Q1, followed by Kahler behind the wheel in Q2.

Sander recorded a 1:45.955, putting him P1 in the Cayman Trophy class, over 2 seconds clear of the #110 sister car, and ninth overall.

In Q2, Luisa Kahler initially set a first timed lap of 1:52.302, moving into seventh overall and topping the class with 8 minutes to go. She improved further to 1:46.847 but slipped to second in class as the #110 Porsche also improved.

Kahler found more time with a 1:46.531 lap, which was unfortunately disallowed for track limits. The session ended under a red flag, leaving her P12 overall and second in class. However, the gap was narrowing as she continued to learn and improve.

On Saturday afternoon, the first sprint race saw Michael Sander behind the wheel. He retained the class lead on lap 1 and moved into seventh overall.

Battling with the Century Motorsport's BMW in the opening stages, he settled into P8 overall while maintaining a comfortable lead in the Cayman Trophy class.

With positions spreading out in the midfield, Sander opened a gap to the cars behind. Though he couldn’t catch the BMW ahead, he was never under threat for the class top spot.

After the first sprint race of the season, Michael Sander secured a win for the #111 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm team, fending off the #69 Plusline Racing Team Porsche and the #82 SVG Ginetta. It was a strong start to the weekend for the duo.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin

On Sunday morning, it was time for Luisa Kahler to make her official GT4 debut under significantly different conditions, with drivers finding a wet Estoril circuit.

Rain intensified as cars lined up on the grid. Kahler started P11 overall and second in class, behind the sister #110 car driven by Cedric Fuchs.

At the start, drivers were cautious on the treacherous track: former GB3 driver McKenzy Cresswell took the lead ahead of Hartling and Terting, while Schreyer's #31 W&S Motorsport Porsche spun and dropped down. Kahler navigated the first lap cleanly, moving up to P10 overall.

Although she lost the position back to Schreyer as he recovered from his spin, Kahler steadily improved her lap times, going under the 2:16 pace. She built a safe margin over the cars behind, while 5 seconds adrift of the #71 Century Motorsport BMW.

By lap 7, Kahler further reduced her lap time to 2:13.3 and started closing in on the two cars ahead. With a personal best of 2:11.1 on lap 10, she continued to make progress despite the challenging conditions.

Kahler drove consistently in the closing stages, ultimately finishing P11 overall and second in the Cayman Trophy class, as Fuchs claimed the win with a fifth-place overall finish.

"On Saturday, my teammate Michael Sander and I tackled the qualifying session", Luisa summarized. "Michael drove the first race that same day, while I competed in the second race on Sunday. In my very first sprint race, I secured 11th place overall and second in my class."

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin

Rain persisted for the third and final race of the weekend, the 60-minute endurance race, where Kahler and Sander shared the #111 Porsche Cayman.

Michael Sander took the start from ninth overall and on Cayman Trophy class pole. At lights out, Josh Rattican in the Elite Motorsport McLaren battled for the overall lead with Enrico Forderer in the #11 Schnitzelalm Porsche, eventually pulling ahead. Meanwhile, Sander maintained the class lead and ninth overall, quickly opening a gap to the sister car of Wilhelm Kuhne.

Sander consistently improved his pace, dipping under the 2:10 mark by lap 6 and passing the SVG Motorsport Ginetta for eighth overall. By lap 10, he had extended his gap to the following car to 10 seconds.

The pit window opened at the race's midpoint, with Sander climbing into fifth overall before pitting on lap 14. He handed over to Luisa Kahler with a 10-second margin in the class lead.

Luisa Kahler took over with 28 minutes left on the clock: she posted solid initial laps in the 2:08 range and overtook the #39 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin driven by Maximilian Hewitt for seventh overall.

After the strong start, Kahler then faced pressure from Cedric Fuchs in the #110 Porsche, who was setting purple sector times and reducing the gap. Luisa responded with laps in the 2:06 range, but Fuchs proved to be one of the fastest drivers on track, eventually overtaking Kahler on lap 23, despite strong defense from the young rookie, who held off well the rival for a few corners.

In the final 10 minutes, Kahler continued to push but could not reclaim the class lead. However, she comfortably held off Hewitt and Hizzey, running consistently at a 2:05 pace.

The Elite Motorsport duo of Cresswell and Rattican dominated the race, finishing 25 seconds ahead of the #31 W&S Porsche of Schreyer and Gabbay, with Forderer and Hartling in the #11 SR Schnitzelalm Mercedes rounding out the overall podium.

Kahler brought the #111 Porsche home in eighth overall and second in the Cayman Trophy class, capping off an encouraging GT4 debut for the 18-year-old German driver.

"The final race of the weekend was an endurance race under wet conditions, as it rained throughout", she explained. "This was an adjustment for me since I had only tested the car in dry conditions before. Despite this, we managed to cross the finish line in 8th place overall, which translated to second in our class."

"During the endurance race, I pulled off a solid overtaking maneuver that I’m proud of", she said. "It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Throughout the weekend, I was able to improve further and gain valuable experience with the car and the track. "

"And that’s what this season is all about for me: maximizing track time, gathering as much valuable experience as possible, and continuing to develop my skills while showing my abilities and potential."

With Estoril now in the books, the team looks ahead to Portimão in a week’s time, where Luisa Kahler will aim to continue her learning process.