Jílková and Gudet clinch best GT4 Europe finish with second place in Misano

Gabriela Jílková and Cindy Gudet scored their best GT4 European Series result with a Pro-Am second place at Misano, moving up to sixth in the championship despite an unfortunate Race 2 retirement.

Photo credits: JEP / SRO

Gabriela Jílková and Cindy Gudet recorded their best result in the GT4 European Series at Misano with a second-place finish in the Pro-Am class on Saturday—marking their second podium of the season. While they couldn’t replicate the result in Race 2 despite showing strong pace through no fault of their own, the Matmut Evolution duo moved up to sixth in the Pro-Am championship standings after the positive weekend.

Gabriela Jílková and Cindy Gudet, selected through the “Volant 100% Féminin Matmut” initiative, are contesting their second season together in the GT4 European Series with Matmut Evolution, aboard the #99 Toyota Supra GT4. Jílková, a seasoned GT4 competitor with multiple podiums in European championships, brings extensive experience to the duo, while Gudet, a former hillclimb champion, is demonstrating strong progression in just her second full year of circuit racing.

The 2025 season began on a high with a Pro-Am podium at Circuit Paul Ricard—matching their best result from the previous year at the same venue—followed by a strong fourth-place finish in Race 2 at Zandvoort, after Gudet was forced to retire from the first race due to contact.

At Spa-Francorchamps, in a round supporting the 24 Hours of Spa, the duo drove strongly through the 42-car field, securing one top-ten class finish in Race 1, before Jílková was taken out on the final lap of Race 2 while battling for a spot within the top five.

After a strong qualifying session at Misano, Gabriela Jílková started the first race of the Italian heat battle from 16th place overall and fourth in Pro-Am—a solid effort from the Czech driver.

Race-day temperatures were extremely high, making tyre management a key factor in the first stint.

Photo credits: JEP / SRO

Jílková made a clean start and worked her way up to 15th overall and fourth in class on the opening lap. However, after gaining ground initially, she lost momentum and had to defend against the Silver-class entry of Evans. She managed this without error over the first few laps.

On lap four, however, chaos unfolded in the group ahead, which affected Jílková as well. Evans was able to pass her as a result, but she simultaneously gained two positions, moving up to third in Pro-Am. She continued a clean and smart stint, but now had Hendrik Still close behind.

On lap six, a collision forced the retirement of the #54 Lotus Emira and the #39 Aston Martin Vantage, triggering a full-course yellow. After a quick restart with 46 minutes to go, it took only two laps for Ebrahim Still to overtake Jílková decisively. Shortly afterward, Gabriela lost a couple more class positions before pitting for the driver change with 31 minutes remaining.

Cindy Gudet exited the pit window in 20th overall but quickly worked her way up to 17th, and crucially, fourth in class. In the final minutes, Gudet climbed to second in class as her rivals lost time in on-track battles. She gained further ground when several cars collided, sending the #259 JW Raceservice Porsche into the barriers.

Ultimately, the all-female team inherited 14th overall and secured second place in Pro-Am after a superb charge through the field—avoiding chaos and delivering a strong, composed stint from Gudet. It was their best result in GT4 Europe, improving on two previous third-place finishes.

Photo credits: JEP / SRO

Gudet started the second race from 19th overall and fifth in Pro-Am, once again under blazing heat. She got a clean launch and moved up to 18th overall while holding fifth in class by the end of the opening lap. However, she was soon overtaken by the Silver-class Ford Mustang of Signoretti.

After the start, Gudet tried to keep pace with the cars ahead but quickly came under pressure from De Barn and Kullmann. Within five minutes, the #60 Razoon BMW was parked at the side of the track, and the #17 BMW suffered a puncture, dropping back. This promoted Gudet to 18th overall, where she continued to defend her fifth-place standing in Pro-Am.

After just a few laps, she overtook the Lotus driven by Naska, gaining a position in both classifications. Simultaneously, previous class leader Mogica suffered a torn left headlight, which loosened the hood. The resulting aerodynamic issue caused him to fall back through the field.

With 45 minutes remaining, a collision at the first chicane eliminated the #97 BMW of Olsson and the #28 Porsche of Kumar. The incident brought out a full-course yellow, which soon turned into a safety car period due to fluids on the track. The neutralization lasted until the 28th minute, slightly delaying the pit window.

After the restart, Gudet completed only half a lap before running low on fuel, then limped to the pits. Multiple collisions occurred in her group, and she was forced off track by a rival. The contact left her without propulsion, ending her race. Several teams were penalized, including Matmut Evolution, but the all-female pairing could not rejoin due to the extent of the damage.

Despite the disappointment in Race 2, the Matmut Evolution team came away from Misano with a healthy points haul. With 55 points, they now sit sixth in the Pro-Am championship standings, and will aim for two strong results at the Nürburgring from August 29–31 to break into the top five.

----

Gabriela Jilkova and Cindy Gudet recorded their best result in European GT4 Championship at Misano, with a second place in ProAm class on Saturday, their second podium finish of the season. While in the second race they couldn't replicate the result despite a strong pace through no fault of their own, they move up to sixth in the ProAm championship standings.

Gabriela Jílková and Cindy Gudet, selected through the “Volant 100% Féminin Matmut” initiative, are contesting their second season together in the GT4 European Series with Matmut Evolution. Jílková, a seasoned GT4 competitor with multiple podiums in European championships, brings extensive experience to the duo, while Gudet, a former hillclimb champion, is demonstrating strong progression in just her second full year of circuit racing.

The 2025 season began on a high with a ProAm podium at Circuit Paul Ricard—matching their best result from the previous year at the same venue—followed by a strong fourth-place finish in Race 2 at Zandvoort after Gudet was forced to retire from the opener due to contact.

At Spa-Francorchamps, in a round supporting the 24 Hours of Spa, the duo drove strongly through the 42-car field, securing one top-ten class finish in race one, before Jílková was taken out on the final lap of Race 2 while battling for a spot within the top five.

After a good qualifying session, Gabriele Jilkova started the first race of the Italian heat battle from 16th place overall and fourth in Pro Am, in a very strong effort for the Czech driver. Temperatures on race day were so high that tires management would be a factor in the first stint of the race.

Jilkova made a clean start and was able to work her way up to 15th overall and 4th in her class on the first lap. However, after gaining ground at the start, she lost ground to the car in front of her and instead had to defend against the silver-class entry of Evans.

She managed this without any errors in the first few laps. On lap four, however, chaos ensued in the fighting group in front of her, which also affected Jilkova. Because she lost momentum here, Evans was able to overtake her, but at the same time she gained two other positions and is up into third spot in ProAm, running a clean and smart first stint. After the field had calmed down a bit, she now had Hendrik Still breathing down her neck.

On lap six, there was a double retirement, after a collision, the #54 Lotus Emira and #39 Aston Martin Vantage had to retire, resulting in a full course yellow. The restart is quick with 46 minutes remaining. It then takes only two laps for Ebrahim Still to overtake and then uncompromisingly take Jilkova. Shortly afterward, Gabriela loses out a couple of class positions before coming into the pits for a driver change with 31 minutes remaining.

Cindy Gudet exits the pit stop window in 20th place overall, but quickly works her way up to 17th and crucially fourth in class.

In the final minutes, Gudet is able to grab second place in the class, as her competitors impede each other in duels. She gains further position towards the end when several cars in front of her make contact, causing the #259 JW Raceservice Porsche to crash. Overall, the all-female team inherits 14th place overall, and secure second place in the Pro class after a superb run up the field, running smartly and avoiding chaos in the final stages with a strong stint for Gudet. It was their best result in GT4 Europe, improving on two third-place finishes.

The Frenchwoman started the second race from 19th place overall and fifth in ProAm, in the blazing heat again. She also got a clean start and managed to secure 18th place overall and held on to 5th place in her class on the first lap. However, she couldn’t hold off the silver-class Ford Mustang of Signoretti for long and lost this position again.

After the start, Gudet tried to keep up with the cars in front of her but soon had to defend from de Barn and Kullmann; after less than 5 minutes, the #60 Razoon BMW had to be parked on the side of the track, and the #17 BMW also suffered a tyre puncture early on and fell back. This put Gudet in 18th place overall, always holding on to 5th in ProAm.

After just a few laps, she managed to overtake the Lotus driven by Naska, which moved her up one position in both classifications. At the same time, the previous class leader, Mogica, tore out his left headlight, causing the hood to come loose. With this aerodynamic disadvantage, he slowly fell back.

With 45 minutes remaining, there was a collision in the first chicane, taking the #97 BMW of Olsson and #28 Porsche of Kumar, both out of the race. Due to fluids on the track, the full course yellow became a safety car period, which lasted until the 28th minute of the race, pushing the pit stop window back slightly.

After the restart, Gudet was able to complete half a lap before she ran out of fuel, but then slowly made her way to the pits. Several collisions occurred in her group, which resulted in the Frenchwoman being pushed off the track by an opponent, leaving her with no further propulsion. Several teams were given penalties, including the Matmut Evolution Team. However, the all-female duo couldn't rejoin as the damage was too extensive to repair.

After the good first race, however, the Matmut Evolution team scored healthy haul of points, now up to 55 points and 6th in ProAm championship standings, hoping for two good races at the Nürburgring from August 29th to 31st to get into top five.