Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo launches its 2026 racing season with the opening round of the Winter Series, delivering nine races across four categories despite severe weather disruption.
Strong winds force the cancellation of Saturday’s programme, shifting all qualifying sessions and races to Sunday at the Cheste circuit, where Formula 4, GT, GT4 and prototype cars compete in a packed schedule.
More than 13,000 spectators attend the season opener, which also features a new edition of the Roow motorsport festival alongside the racing action. The event combines competitive track sessions with car exhibitions, drift gymkhanas, a demolition derby and a closing lap for fans, reinforcing the circuit’s growing appeal as a combined sport and entertainment destination.
The Winter Series weekend begins under challenging conditions, with high winds shaping both scheduling and race strategy. Once racing resumes on Sunday, drivers face a compressed timetable that demands consistency and focus across multiple sessions in quick succession.
In Formula 4, Belgian driver Dries Van Langendonck enters the weekend as championship leader and favourite and immediately delivers with a commanding victory in the first race, leading from pole position to the chequered flag. The McLaren Academy driver remains in contention in the second race but finishes third behind Poland’s Aleksander Ruta and Britain’s Thomas Bearman, brother of Formula 1 driver Oliver Bearman.
The final Formula 4 race sees Germany’s Arjen Kräling take the win ahead of Ruta and Bearman, while Van Langendonck drops to ninth, closing a dramatic set of results that reshuffles the early championship picture.
GT racing produces a mix of sprint and endurance-style outcomes. In the short-format races, Israel’s Ariel Levi claims victory in the first contest driving the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2, while Marcus Clutton follows up with a win in the second race behind the wheel of the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. The longer GT race belongs to Kiano Blum and Niklas Kalus, who secure top honours in the Ford Mustang GT3 after a consistent performance across the extended distance.
The GT4 category is dominated by the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm team, which controls the weekend from start to finish. Enrico Förderer wins the opening race, Joel Mesch takes the second, and the pair combine to capture victory in the longer endurance-style event, marking one of the most comprehensive team performances of the weekend.
In the prototype class, Danish driver Morten Stromsted emerges as the clear standout, claiming all three available victories and establishing early momentum in the championship. His clean sweep under difficult weather conditions highlights both driver skill and mechanical reliability.
Beyond the racing, the Roow festival element draws thousands of additional visitors, blending motorsport culture with interactive attractions. Fans explore custom car displays, watch drift exhibitions and participate in on-track experiences, reflecting a growing trend among European circuits to position race weekends as full-day entertainment events rather than standalone sporting competitions.
The strong turnout, despite weather disruptions, signals sustained interest in winter motorsport programmes across southern Europe, where milder climates allow year-round competition and attract international drivers preparing for major championships later in the season.
The Circuit Ricardo Tormo now turns its attention to its next major event, welcoming fans back on Saturday 21 February for the third round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Challenge. Organisers expect another strong crowd as the venue continues its early-season run of high-profile motorsport action.
With packed grids, international talent and a festival atmosphere, the Winter Series opener sets a high-energy tone for the circuit’s 2026 calendar, positioning Valencia once again as one of southern Europe’s key motorsport hubs during the winter racing months.
