Buggyra ZM Racing passes the tough test of its first 24-hour race
Sep 19, 2023
The team successfully completes their first 24-hour race at Barcelona finishing third in the GT4 class despite some major setbacks.
Barcelona/Spain - September 19, 2023 /MarketersMEDIA/ —
· The usual driver line-up of Adam Lacko, David Vršecký, and Aliyyah Koloc was joined last weekend by experienced racers Jaroslav Janiš and Jaromír Jiřík
· Buggyra ZM Racing finishes runner-up in the GT4 championship and sixth overall against much more powerful machinery and experienced drivers
In the world of racing, there is no bigger test than a round-the-clock endurance classic – and Buggyra ZM Racing rose to the occasion at the 24 Hours of Barcelona last weekend, part of the 24H Series.
At the wheel of the Buggyra ZM Racing Mercedes AMG-GT4 were as usual Adam Lacko, David Vršecký, and Aliyyah Koloc; joined last weekend by experienced racers Jaroslav Janiš and Jaromír Jiřík to complete the line-up.
After a day and a night of racing at the Circuit de Catalunya, which is also the home of the Spanish Grand Prix, the squad finished 29th overall and third in class in their first 24-hour race, despite some major setbacks along the way.
The 24 Hours of Barcelona also crowned the 24H Series champions, with Buggyra ZM Racing eventually finishing runner-up in the GT4 championship along with a fine sixth in the overall standings – against much more powerful machinery and experienced drivers.
The team’s 19-year-old star Aliyyah Koloc also claimed second in the GT Junior class and first in the Ladies Cup, rounding off a successful weekend for the team. Although Aliyyah took part in the Dakar Rally for the first time this year, Barcelona was the longest circuit race so far in her young career, as she continues her intense learning programme all over the world.
Free Practice and Qualifying
The rate of improvement was rapid: on its 24-hour debut, the team posted the second-fastest time in official free practice on Friday, then started from pole position as a result of combined qualifying: a remarkable four seconds faster than its nearest rival on aggregate. With the 4.657-kilometer Barcelona circuit providing a good all-round test of the capabilities of any car and driver – one of the reasons why it is regularly used as a Formula 1 testing venue – the 24-hour race itself was set to provide the biggest challenge for the Buggyra ZM Racing team and its drivers yet.
Race
The drama started before the lights went to green, as the car failed to start the opening lap and had to be pushed back to the pitlane, with David Vršecký at the wheel. But even a restart from pit lane failed, prompting a frantic search for the problem. Deposits in the control fuel turned out to have clogged the filter, which subsequently damaged the fuel pump. Eventually the fuel tank itself had to be dismantled, taking about an hour to fix before the crew finally got underway, from last place. This was the start of a strong fightback: by the halfway point, the team was already up to third in class, albeit a number of laps behind. From there, it was a question of trying to maintain the same progress to the finish and narrow the gap to the leaders – having fought hard for second place in the closing stages. The only other major issue came with Jaromír Jiřík at the wheel, when the rear suspension broke after the straight. Luckily, the Czech driver managed to nurse the car back to the pits and the team could continue.
By the time the #416 car crossed the finish line at midday on Sunday with Jaroslav Janiš, the team recorded a well-deserved class podium after a gruelling but extremely educational 24 hours, only a minute and half off second place. As well as learning about endurance and race craft, the squad successfully overcame all the hurdles that it was faced with; benefitting from the shared human adventure of non-stop racing against the clock.
Quotes
Aliyyah Koloc, driver:
“I think it was the first time for most of us, so it was a very new experience, and a very tough race as well. But we made it to the finish and we got a podium finish too, so I’m very happy despite the issues we had. Honestly, I did a lot of driving during those 24 hours, including a long endurance stint at night so it was very interesting to experience driving in different conditions. I also drove a bit when the sun was rising, so that was very cool. The team did a great job, along with all the drivers and mechanics, so I think we can be happy. I was just trying to be consistent and not have any issues, but unfortunately, I had a small contact that wasn’t my fault: no big damage, so we just pitted to change the wheel. That was a good wake-up call, but we managed to continue and made it to the finish!”
David Vršecký, driver:
“After qualifying, we knew we had the speed. That's why we were expecting a slightly different start to the race. I felt a bit desperate: everybody was running away at the start, while I was just restarting systems and trying to find a way to get the car moving. But the team did an amazing job; when they found the problem, they were able to solve it and we drove the rest of the race without any problems.”
Martin Koloc, Team Principal:
“It has been an extremely long and demanding season for us. In between GT racing we have been doing offroad rallies, so to summarize the endurance season, we have done really well for the first time. We have been leading throughout the year; we lost a few races, mainly because of bad luck and we didn’t really make any big mistakes. We finished second in the championship; Aliyyah finished a close second in the GT Junior class which is incredible, racing with so many strong guys in this championship. We will all work hard to get better next year. I am very proud of this team, they have been working so hard, they never stop, trying to battle the odds, never giving up. Each individual member of the team should get a medal because they have been really good.”
https://www.facebook.com/BUGGYRA
https://twitter.com/buggyra_racing
https://www.linkedin.com/company/buggyra-racing
https://www.instagram.com/buggyra_racing/
Contact Info:
Name: Buggyra Racing
Email: Send Email
Organization: Buggyra Racing
Address: Buggyra, La Villa 19, Galerie Charles III, 98000 Monaco
Phone: +3778004459
Website: http://www.buggyra.com
Release ID: 89107820
In the event of encountering any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release, we kindly request that you immediately contact us at [email protected]. Our dedicated team will be readily accessible to address your feedback within 8 hours and take appropriate measures to rectify any identified issues or facilitate press release takedowns. Ensuring accuracy and reliability are central to our commitment.
More News
Cuba flight, Taiwan trade pushback, Panama probe: 7 Latin America relations reads
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Air China scrambles to fly stranded passengers out of fuel-starved Cuba As a US oil embargo deepened Cuba’s energy crisis, dozens of Air China passengers found themselves stranded on the island. Read the full story here. 2. Paraguay tech minister defies Beijing sanctions, vows to...
Top Chinese general meets Russian defence minister days after Politburo appointment
Zhang Shengmin, China’s most senior uniformed general, met Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov in Beijing on Tuesday in his first publicly reported meeting with a foreign official since he became a member of the Politburo. Zhang, the vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), pledged to deepen military cooperation and strategic coordination with Russia during the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. He was elected to the Politburo last week at a key Communist Party...
Chinese court hears US$53.5 billion Covid defamation case against US state of Missouri
A Chinese court has begun hearings in a defamation case filed by authorities and institutes in Beijing and Wuhan against the US state of Missouri over accusations tied to Covid-19. In a notice on Monday, the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court said it held a hearing on Friday and legal proceedings were continuing. The case was jointly filed on April 30, 2025 by the Wuhan government in Hubei province, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and its subordinate entity, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV),...
China tests wave-piercing stealth trimaran as unconventional naval fleet grows
China appears to be testing a stealthy new trimaran at sea, according to a photograph circulating on social media, in what could be a further effort to develop unconventional naval platforms. The image first emerged on Weibo on Sunday and appears to show a vessel featuring an inverted wave-piercing bow, three-hull design and angular superstructure surfaces that could be intended to reduce its radar signature. The vessel, which is fitted with a prominent antenna mast and multiple dome-shaped...
Beijing offers to boost China-Pakistan corridor safety as terror threat grows
China has pledged to work with Pakistan to advance “high-level security cooperation” and ensure the safety of a joint flagship infrastructure project that has become a target for terrorists. That was the message Liu Haixing, head of the Communist Party’s International Department, conveyed in talks with Pakistan defence forces chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, as part of his first official visit to the South Asian country since taking office just over a year ago. In...
China’s HQ series intercepts 2 new missile types as PLA tests weapon platform
A People’s Liberation Army air defence unit has for the first time intercepted two new types of missile simultaneously during a drill – including one that made a sudden change of direction, according to state television. The CCTV report on Monday said it was a rapid response operation by the ground-based Shenwei Missile Battalion – under the PLA Central Theatre Command Air Force – which is equipped with Hongqing surface-to-air missiles. It did not disclose the type of missiles intercepted or any...
What is it? PNG says it’s an artillery shell. China says it’s a wine bottle
China’s embassy in Papua New Guinea has disputed reports that a suspected Chinese-made artillery shell was found in a shipping container in Port Moresby, saying the object was instead a shell-shaped wine bottle. The embassy said in a social media post on Tuesday it was awaiting the official findings of an investigation by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). It cited an on-site verification by a company involved in the case, which said the object was a wine bottle. “It poses no...
Spain Footballer Dies After On-Field Collision With Goalkeeper
CD Tenerife footballer Jesús de Miguel died at age 30 following a cardiac arrest after colliding with FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during a match.
China Olympic shot put champion Gong Lijiao loses over 30kg in first year of retirement
A year after stepping away from competition, Olympic shot put champion Gong Lijiao has lost more than 30kg (66lbs) after refusing to “lie flat” during her retirement. The 36-year-old submitted her official retirement paperwork after the National Games in November last year. She said then she aimed to lose 25kg before pursuing marriage. “I also want to become beautiful. You will surely see a different version of me,” Gong said. Speaking to Chinese media in an interview published on Monday, the...
Lakshya Sen Reveals Injury Struggles Behind Form Slump After All England Heroics
Lakshya Sen said that constant travel and fitness issues limited his ability to experiment in training, forcing him to focus on workload management during a challenging few months.
China’s historic first space docking in 2011 – SCMP archive
This article was first published on November 4, 2011. China a step closer to building its own space station by Stephen Chen Encouraged by yesterday (November 3, 2011) morning’s historic rendezvous and docking of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft, Chinese authorities said construction of a space station will begin as soon as 2013. “We will do two more rendezvous and docking flights next year,” said Wu Ping (武平), spokeswoman for the manned space programme, at a press conference in Beijing yesterday....
Chinese drug iza-bren doubles lung cancer survival window in phase 3 trial
An anticancer drug developed by Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical took centre stage in a late-breaking oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid last week. Researchers said the drug, iza-bren, showed a significant advantage over platinum-based chemotherapy in a phase 3 randomised, double-blind clinical trial conducted at 73 hospitals in China and involving 432 patients with advanced lung cancer. The median progression-free survival (PFS) – the length of...
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.