Aliyyah Koloc, Adam Lacko and David Vršecký, racing in their Mercedes AMG GT4 for Buggyra ZM Racing, had a very successful 12 Hours of Misano. With P7 overall, the best result in the GT history of the team, they managed to pass some of the faster GT3 cars. In addition, with another win in the GT4 class at Misano, they became the 2024 GT4 champions with one race to go. Aliyyah Koloc, the 20-year-old Dubai-born racer, was also fastest of all women drivers in the GT4 class.
It has been a successful GT season for Buggyra ZM Racing. With one race to go, the 24 Hours of Barcelona in September, the team has already been crowned GT4 champion, having won all preceding four races of the 2024 24 Hours Series this year, some of them from the back of the grid.
Martin Koloc, Buggyra ZM Racing CEO and team principal said: „I have no words to say how very proud I am of this team. Every single member of this team – engineers, mechanics, drivers, the media team – has been working hand in hand over the season. For Misano, we were able to get P7 overall which is the result of all our hard work and the best GT result in the team’s history. We prepared well for this race and the high temperatures here and it paid off as we finally have become class champions with one race to go. That shows our consistency throughout the season despite the fact that other cars in our category have more top speed. The fact that we won the class championship with one race to go and, on top of that, got P7 overall really is an outstanding result that will be hard to repeat in the future.“
Starting from third, the trio of Aliyyah, David and Adam absolutely dominated the race in their class. „It wasn’t an easy race as it was very hot. Nevertheless, we avoided any issues, as the car was perfectly prepared,“ Adam Lacko explained.
It was also a special race for the junior engineers of the team. As part of the Buggyra Academy program, the three youngsters – Czech brothers Jakub (22) and Matej (26) Hadascok together with Dubai-born Yasmeen Koloc (19) – were handed the reins for the race management by the senior engineers. It was a great experience for them which went well as the team had a flawless race.
Yasmeen Koloc, who is Aliyyah Koloc’s twin sister and her race engineer, explained: „I was a little nervous before the race as it felt like a big responsibility to run the race from the engineering side and prepare and adapt the strategy throughout those 12 hours. Together with Jakub and Matej Hadascok who are the other two junior engineers of the team, I think we managed well. We did ask the senior engineers from time to time when we weren’t sure about our call as the championship was at stake, and they were a big help and reassured our choices. I am looking forward to Barcelona where hopefully I will be able to put into practice the experience I have gained at Misano.“
Yasmeen’s twin sister Aliyyah Koloc took the start of the 12-hour race which was something new for her too as usually her more experienced team-mates start the race. After her first stint, the 20-year-old said: „The start was pretty chaotic as the car that was supposed to be next to me was in front of me, so in the wrong grid position, but nevertheless we managed to do a good stint. Our competitors, some of them GT3 cars, were really fast it was hard to catch them, but overall it was a good stint.“
At the end of the race, Aliyyah was more than happy. „It was a long 12 hours but I feel really good. The team did well and we finished in P7 overall, beating quite a few GT3s which are usually faster than us. Finally, we also came first in the class championship which is great as we only missed it by little last year. Over the season, there was some close fighting in our class and sometimes we had to start from the back. We have been very consistent throughout the year, we have been delivering in every race. We form a great team with David and Adam, and also with Jarek Janiš who played a big part in our success in the 24 Hours of Portimao in May. Congratulations to the whole team. We will be pushing for more!“
The next time, Buggyra ZM Racing can show what’s in them, will be at the 24 Hours of Barcelona from September 13-15, the final round of the 2024 European 24 Hours Series.