While Sovička’s debut with the KTM X-Bow GTX three weeks ago in Oschersleben was hampered by technical issues, limiting him to the endurance race with Petr Lisa, he made up for it in Hungary. This time, Sovička participated in all the races. RTR Projects focused on developing his skills, giving him the opportunity to compete in both sprint races, in addition to the endurance race with Lisa. In the highly competitive GTX class, all these starts culminated in second-place finishes.
Sovička himself was pleased with his performance. “I had the chance to really get to know the car, analyze data, and improve with Petr’s help. Compared to Oschersleben, it was a big step forward. Since Petr was racing alongside me, the team could identify differences in how we handle the car. I’m very satisfied,” said Sovička.
The RTR Projects newcomer, who has a background in motorcycle racing and competing in the Carbonia Cup with a Corvette Z06, was also happy with how he measured up against the more experienced Lisa. “In my best laps, I was less than three seconds behind Petr. That’s a big achievement for me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t string together a perfect lap in Sunday’s qualifying, but otherwise, my gap could have been closer to two seconds. Considering this was only my second race weekend with this car, I see it as a solid foundation for further improvement,” Sovička added optimistically.
Petr Lisa had high praise for his teammate: “It was amazing to see the progress he made. He did everything we discussed and drove perfectly. He improved significantly, especially between the first and second sprint races. He clocked more kilometers, learned from his mistakes, and sped up. On top of that, he drove consistently. These results are well deserved,” Lisa acknowledged.
A win for a customer team
Although RTR Projects left the Hungaroring with a trio of second-place finishes, they still celebrated a victory “by proxy.” Václav Janík, competing in the GTX class for the first time in a KTM X-Bow from RTR Projects, claimed the endurance race win.
RTR Projects can also take pride in the championship standings. Thanks to Sovička and Lisa’s endurance race win in Oschersleben, their second-place finish in Hungary was enough to keep them atop the endurance classification. The pair leads Václav Janík by 5.5 points.
Sovička’s outlook in the sprint championship is promising as well. His two second-place finishes at the Hungaroring moved him to second in the overall GTX standings. The leader, Alexander Ober, driving a Lamborghini Huracán, has a seven-point advantage.
The next ESET Cup event will feel like a homecoming for the KTM cars. From May 20–21, the series will battle for points at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
