GT4 Winter Series: Luisa Kahler secures maiden pole position, scores podium in Valencia

"I made a big step forward in my development" - Luisa Kahler enjoyed a standout weekend in the GT4 Winter Series at Valencia, securing her first pole position, a runner-up finish in the sprint race, and showcasing strong race pace despite an unfortunate endurance race.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich

German 18-year-old racer Luisa Kahler enjoyed another breakthrough weekend in the GT4 Winter Series, securing her first pole position and another podium finish in class during the third round of the championship at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

Kahler, who made her race car debut in the 2023 BMW M2 Cup after stepping up from karting, focused on obtaining her Permit-A at the Nürburgring in 2024 while consistently working to advance her motorsport career. She has now taken another step forward for the 2025 season.

Joining SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm for her first GT4 campaign, Kahler embarked on a learning-oriented season in the GT4 Winter Series, aiming to improve at every round—and she has done so with remarkable progress over the first two weekends.

On her debut at Estoril, Kahler secured two runner-up finishes in the Cayman Trophy class, along with a promising overall top-ten result. She made further strides one week later at Portimão, showcasing great racecraft and a significant improvement in both race pace and qualifying performance, adding two more podiums in both the sprint and endurance races.

Heading to Valencia for the third round, Kahler aimed to build on this progress, and she undoubtedly succeeded, showing clear improvements in lap times that were now on par with the class leaders.

"The third round of the GT4 Winter Series in Valencia has come to an end, and it was a great race weekend", Kahler summarized. "The track is absolutely beautiful, with amezing corners that make it so much fun to drive".

"Thursday and Friday were test days again, and after those sessions, I felt well prepared for the days ahead", she continued, having logged good laps in the six sessions that saw the #111 Porsche Cayman GT4 CS that Luisa shared once again with teammate Michael Sander running towards the top of the class.

On Saturday morning, it was time to qualify. Michael Sander took the wheel for Q1 in the #111 Porsche Cayman, setting a 1:42.840 in the final minute to claim provisional pole in class. However, Franz Linden improved by one-tenth of a second, snatching pole position and leaving Sander with an equally promising second place.

Kahler took over for Q2 shortly after and quickly found more time, posting a 1:41.963 to climb to second in class and eighth overall. The #66 Speedworxx Automotive Porsche of Franz Linden then improved, briefly demoting Kahler to third in the Cayman Trophy class—but she responded with another strong lap, a 1:41.483, reclaiming second place with just over a minute and a half remaining.

Kahler continued to improve on her final run, clocking a 1:41.314 to secure pole position in class, just 0.035 seconds ahead of Cedric Fuchs’ sister car. It was a remarkable performance, earning her first pole position in GT4 in only her third weekend in the series, finishing ninth overall.

The first sprint race of the weekend was Sander’s solo sprint race, starting from second in class. Sander took the lead early on and maintained it for the first few laps before slipping back behind the class leader.

Mounting a strong recovery, he closed the gap by nearly two seconds per lap. On the final lap, he was only 3.5 seconds behind. Sander set a personal best and caught up to Ryndziewicz, attempting a move for the lead. The two traded positions in a dramatic switchback battle, but at the chequered flag, Sander crossed the line in second place, just four-tenths of a second behind the winner.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich

On Sunday morning, it was time for Luisa Kahler to take on her 30-minute sprint race, aiming to capitalize on the pole position in class she secured the day before.

The Cayman Trophy (CT) entries had a very close start on the first lap, with the two SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm cars battling wheel to wheel through the first corners, while the W&S Motorsport Cayman from the Pro class also got in the mix.

Cedric Fuchs managed to get by as Kahler was boxed in behind traffic, slotting her into second place in class and eighth overall.

Kahler, however, was determined not to give up. By lap three, she dipped under the 1:42 mark, staying within a second of Fuchs and continuing to put pressure on her teammate.

She then had to fend off the #38 Plusline Racing Porsche of Joachim Bolting from the AM class, which cost her some momentum in her chase of Fuchs.

Settling into the 1:43 range, Kahler regained speed by lap 11, once again running quicker than the cars ahead. Fuchs, who had built a five-second gap, started losing ground.

The ProAm entry of Grundel, positioned between the two Cayman Trophy front-runners, matched their pace, making it more difficult for Kahler to close the gap. Despite this, she managed to return to a superbly consistent 1:42 pace, with the top two running nearly identical lap times for most of the race.

At the chequered flag, she secured a commendable second place, adding another podium to her tally. While the race was largely decided on the first lap, Kahler's performance showed plenty of positives, particularly her strong and consistent pace.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich

The final race of the GT4 Winter Series weekend followed in the afternoon with a 60-minute endurance race with driver change.

Michael Sander took the start for the #111 SR Motorsport by SchnitzelAlm Porsche, lining up tenth overall and on class pole. Crucially, a Pro class car between him and his closest CT-class competitor provided some breathing room at lights out.

At the end of the first lap, the #30 W&S Motorsport ProAm Porsche had moved ahead, leaving Sander with a one-second lead over the #66 Speedworxx Cayman of Franz Linden.

Sander’s pace was competitive straight away, running in the 1:43s and gaining ground on Linden, who was battling the Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Ravi Ramyead.

By lap four, the gap had grown to over 2.5 seconds. Maintaining consistent lap times over the next few laps, Sander steadily extended his margin.

However, his hard work was undone on lap eight when the #700 BWT Mücke Motorsport Aston Martin of Thilo Goos got stranded in the gravel, bringing out the safety car with 45 minutes to go.

When the race resumed on lap 10, Sander unfortunately lost the class lead to Linden, with the #32 Pro-class W&S Motorsport Porsche also slotting in between them. Behind him, teammate Kuhne’s sister car was just two seconds back, but Sander was lapping faster and soon began closing in on the class leader again.

Sander pitted on lap 15, handing the car over to Luisa Kahler.

The #80 Mertel Motorsport Porsche stayed out longer and took the class lead, while Kahler rejoined ahead of the cars that had already pitted. She quickly overtook the #66 Speedworxx Automotive machine of Arne Hoffmeister. However, Hoffmeister fought back and reclaimed the virtual lead on lap 16.

Oscar Ryndziewicz, leading overall, finally pitted on lap 17—just moments before another safety car was deployed with 25 minutes remaining. Back in second place, Kahler was now locked in a battle with Hoffmeister for the win. Adding to the challenge, Cedric Fuchs’ sister car was now right behind, also fighting for the top spot.

When the green flag waved again on lap 19, Kahler went on the attack. In a tightly packed group of Caymans, she made a decisive move to pass Hoffmeister for the lead, then set her sights on the ProAm entry of Grundel, aiming to create a buffer between herself and her class rivals.

However, stuck in traffic, Kahler saw Hoffmeister find a gap and retake the lead on lap 21. Fuchs also seized the opportunity to sneak ahead, pushing Kahler to third.

Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty proved costly: despite this setback, Kahler kept pushing.

Once in clean air, she set her fastest lap of the race at 1:43.2—over two seconds quicker than the car ahead—closing the 12-second gap. Just as she was about to complete the comeback, a second drive-through penalty halted her charge.

In the final minutes, Kahler again displayed her strong pace, improving her best time back-to-back with a 1:43.0. She mounted a late charge for the final podium spot, making up another 12 seconds in just three laps. In a heartbreaking finish, she came up just 0.1 seconds short of third place.

It was an unfortunate race, but Kahler still showcased her speed and made several impressive overtakes.

Photo credits: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich

"I took over the car in P2 and managed to fight my way back into the lead", Luisa said. "The battle with the Cayman in P2 was intense, and he eventually regained the spot. A second safety car phase disrupted the race again. I knew I had to take advantage of the restart, so I prepared everything for a move", she continued.

"As soon as the race was green again, I attacked in turn 2 and pulled off a strong overtaking maneuvre to reclaim the lead. Unfortunately the third race didn't end the way we had hoped. Due to two drive through penalties, we were only able to bring the car home in P4."

"But I'm really proud of myself because I was able to close the gap again despite the two penalties and crossed the finish line just 0.1 seconds behind."

Overall, it was another positive weekend for Luisa Kahler, highlighted by her first pole position and another runner-up finish in the sprint race. Her lap times were among the fastest in the class, highlighting her continued progress.

"This weekend was a huge success", Luisa continued. "I made a big step forward in my development, applied all the advice I received and improved continuously. I have never learnt as much as I did in this last race, and I'm very grateful for that experience."

Now sitting second in the Cayman Trophy class championship standings, Kahler is just 10 points behind leaders Fuchs/Kuhne with two rounds remaining. Next up is Round 4 at Motorland Aragón on March 1-2.