Katarina Kyvalova makes 24H Series return at 24H of Portimao

RACERS

Jun 16, 20223 min read

Historic racing star Katarina Kyvalova returns to the CREVENTIC 24H Series with RAM Racing, in a GT4 entry at the upcoming 24 Hours of Portimão.

A well known name in the fascinating world of classic cars and historic racing, Katarina Kyvalova has entered prestigious events such as the Monaco GP Historique and the Goodwood Revival.

A massive car enthusiast and collector, Kyvalova has previously ventured into modern GT racing with two participations in the 24 Hours of Dubai – and she is set to return to the CREVENTIC 24H Series at the upcoming 24 Hours of Portimão, sharing a Mercedes AMG GT4 with John Minshaw, Phil Keen and Ian Loggie, under the banner of RAM Racing.

Sporting a new livery that won't certainly go unnoticed on track, RAM Racing will thus field its first ever GT4 entry on July 9-10, with the very promising drivers' line up.

Used to the extreme challenges of historic cars such as a Cooper-Jaguar T33 and the pre-war 4.5L Bentley, Katarina will have the opportunity to tackle a different challenge next month, as she gets back behind the wheel of modern GT machinery.

“I’m really excited to be joining RAM Racing for the 24 Hours of Portimão, and to have such a great team around me", Katarina said in the announcement.

"I love the sense of speed and the thrill of modern GT racing – it’s so different from the classic cars. Racing historic cars takes so much concentration and effort, timing gear changes and being mechanically sympathetic. You can relax a bit more with modern GTs as they’re a lot tougher – that does remove a lot of the excuses book though! I’m really looking forward to Portimão and I think we can go there and get a good result. I’d love to do more, but we’ll see how we go for Portimão first.”

Endurance racing is all about finding the perfect team's balance and working at unison – and having previously shared the wheel with most of the line up, Kyvalova is already on the right path.

"I’ve done two Dubai 24-hour races alongside Jon Minshaw before, and shared my Cooper-Jaguar T33 at the Goodwood Revival with Phil Keen, so I know them both well already. Ian is the only new face to me, but I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun during the race."

Jon Mishaw and Phil Keen have been title contenders in British GT and claimed second overall from 2016 to 2018 aboard Porsche and Lamborghini machinery. For Keen, it will be his first racing experience in GT4. Mishaw and Kyvalova have recently tested with RAM at Silverstone.

Ian Loggie – the only driver that hasn't teamed up with Katarina before – is also one of the protagonists of the British-based GT championship, where he represents RAM Racing together with factory driver Jules Gounon in a Mercedes AMG GT3 ProAm entry.

Most of them also have previous starts in the CREVENTIC 24H Series as well – including a second place at the most recent 24H of Dubai for Loggie – which puts them in a good position among the GT4 field.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve brought this GT4 project together, and I don’t think we could wish for a better driver line-up for our debut in the class" – said RAM Racing team manager Dan Shufflebottom. "We’ve been talking to Katarina for a while and it’s been a pleasure working on the Mercedes-AMG GT4, so we’re now all excited to be able to push the car’s limits together in Portimão."

The eye-catching wire-frame inspired livery has been designed by artist Benedict Radcliffe and realised by Matt Reeves Design.

The 24 Hours of Portimão is set to get underway on Saturday 9th July at 14:00 local.