Over 20,000 spectators attended the 2026 Red Bull Ring Classics, making it one of the biggest historic motorsport events of the year. BOSS GP proofed to be fan-favourite after two spectacular races with 20 Big Open Single Seaters.

Round 4 of the 2026 season saw the BOSS GP drivers take to the picturesque Formula 1 circuit in Spielberg in the Austrian Alps. Despite the forecast of bad weather, all BOSS GP sessions took place in dry conditions. Grid walks, exhibition cars — including the first Formula 1 cars driven by Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz — and demonstration laps by BOSS GP driver Erich Zech in his 1997 Ferrari F310B further enriched the programme. During the pit walk, fans were able to get up close to the cars and drivers. The races themselves were non-stop thrills from start to finish, with almost no interruptions.R

Reigning champion Ulf Ehninger (GER, ESBA Racing) celebrated his return in the Formula 1 class: following an overhaul of his Judd engine in the Benetton B197, which had only been refitted days before the race, he crowned his comeback with a surprise victory in Race 1. Technical failures suffered by the favourites helped with this. Ingo Gerstl (AUT, Team Top Speed) and Phil Stratford (GBR, Williams F1 Heritage) were forced to retire due to differential and gearbox problems, respectively.

The two crowd favourites, Gerstl in the Toro Rosso STR1 and Stratford in the Williams FW25, were able to restart the second race and immediately pulled ahead of the other cars. Gerstl, who set the fastest qualifying time of the weekend with a lap of 1:10.529, won comfortably. Stratford entered the first corner with locked wheels, but managed to turn in just in time, eventually crossing the finish line in second place, ahead of Saturday’s winner Ehninger.

In the OPEN category, Haralds Šlēgelmilhs (LVA, HS Engineering) made an impressive comeback in his 4.5-litre Dallara T12, dominating the competition. Following his season opener at Hockenheim, Karl Heinz Matzinger (AUT, Team Hoffmann Racing) was also back in action, competing in the upper midfield in the former car of Karl-Heinz Becker (World Series T05) and putting in a more than respectable performance in front of his home crowd.

The WORLD SERIES and FORMULA classes once again caused quite a stir, battling not only amongst themselves, but also against one another. In Race 1, the fastest was the young Argentine Francisco Soldavini (MM International): In the only Formula 2 turbo car of the 2018 generation, he started from pole position and won against his team-mate and championship rival, Simone Colombo (ITA, GP2/2011). As championship leader Marco Ghiotto (ITA, Nardi Compressori) could only manage fourth place, both drivers picked up vital points.

However, in Race 2, the tide turned again when Soldavini and Colombo collided at Turn 4, damaging both cars. After the pit stops, they both continued, but their chances of winning were gone. Soldavini limited the damage by finishing third. Thomas Zeltner (SUI, Nardi Compressori) was the big winner of the weekend: after finishing third in Race 1, he secured his first, much-celebrated BOSS GP victory in race 2, in only his second year in the series. Team principal and fellow driver Ghiotto celebrated with him in second place.

The Dane Jens Renstrup (MM International) also performed strongly, taking fourth and fifth places in the class, while Stephan Miller (Team Top Speed) enjoyed his home race, finishing sixth.

In the WORLD SERIES category, Paul O’Connell (IRE, HS Engineering) took a big step towards the championship title by winning twice. Regarded as 'the fastest farmer since Jim Clark', the Irishman held off local hero Michael Fischer (AUT, Red Rose Racing by LRT) in Race 1. Fischer gave it his all and came close, but a minor driving error by O'Connell caused him to broke the front wing and he was pushed back to the rear of the field. Consequently, Stefan Eisinger-Sewald (AUT, Red Rose Racing by LRT) moved up to second place.

In Race 2, Fischer gave it his all once again but got caught up in the pack and stood no chance against O’Connell. However, he bid farewell to his home crowd with a strong second-place finish. BOSS GP rookie F. Binder (AUT, Team Top Speed) secured another podium finish in Race 1. Marco Minelli (ITA, AM Sport System) grew in confidence as the race went on, but missed out on the podium twice, finishing fourth.

The SUPER LIGHTS class also saw a first-time winner: Jochem Sihorsch (LöSi Racing) from Germany won Race 1 in the World Series V6 ahead of Stefan Scho (GER, Reifen Scho) and Domenico Parrotta (ITA, Walter Colacino Racing), who were driving two Formula 3000 cars from different generations. Scho was unstoppable in Race 2: driving the Lola T91, he secured his fifth win of the season, ahead of Sihorsch and BOSS GP veteran Colacino.

The next event in the BOSS GP Racing Series is the Gran Premio Storico d’Italia at Mugello Circuit.

Photo: Martin Kubanka