Praga R1 2024 mid-season review

As Praga showcases the new Bohema hypercar and ZS 800 motorcycle across Europe, the R1 race car continues to secure race wins and claim silverware around the world.

With Praga race teams joining competitive grids in Australia, Europe, and the USA, Praga’s presence in respected series and championships reflects the growing number of customers enjoying downforce racing in our lightweight, aerodynamic prototype racer.

Read on for a look at some of the highlights of the 2024 season so far.

UK

Praga continues to appear at the UK’s leading and most popular racetracks with healthy grid numbers on the ZEO Prototype Series calendar. R1 drivers Tom Canning, Jack Fabby, and Shane Kelly have each taken home silverware from the series so far, competing against a mix of prototype marques and models.

At round one at Silverstone on 16th March, experienced R1 driver Jack Fabby started the season in top form with the team from Idola Motorsport. On a grid of 23 prototypes and a race format of two sprint races, Fabby finished 2nd overall and 1st in class in race one, then repeated the same result in race two—an excellent start to the season.

Round two at Snetterton on 18th May proved to be another celebratory weekend for Jack Fabby, who took 2nd place in the first race and 3rd place in the second. Fellow R1 racer Shane Kelly and the team from University of Wolverhampton Racing joined Fabby on the winners’ podium, finishing in 2nd place.

At round three, this time at the popular track of Donington Park on 22nd June, it was Tom Canning who entered the prototype fray, securing 3rd and 4th place finishes from the weekend, while Shane Kelly delivered his best drive of the UK season so far with 2nd and 3rd place finishes, earning a double podium for the student-run team.

With Praga drivers in contention for a series win, if you’d like to see Praga racing in the UK, the next races take place at Brands Hatch on 17th August 2024 and Oulton Park on 26th October 2024.

Europe

Praga is no stranger to Europe’s racing scene and the 2024 season has already seen the R1 compete at iconic racetracks in Belgium, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia.

As a highlight of the 2024 season, British racing teams headed to the popular Supercar Challenge, which sees large grids of GT cars, touring cars, and sportscars compete on an equal basis within the same class, making for thrilling racing.

Idola Motorsport and University of Wolverhampton Racing joined the championship at Spa-Francorchamps on 1st and 2nd June for two, one-hour races. The R1’s effective aerodynamics and fast corning helped the UK team claim a 2nd place overall finish (2nd place finish in class).

Returning to the Supercar Challenge in the summer, British racing twins Chris Bridle and Ed Bridle teamed-up to join the grid at Assen on 2nd and 3rd August. With both drivers sharing many years of experience behind the Praga wheel, they started on P1 on a grid of 40+ cars and finished the first one-hour race in 3rd. Not satisfied with a top three finish, the second race saw the Bridle twins take the chequered flag in 1st place as the outright winners, claiming another pair of trophies to take back to the UK.

Czech drivers

Meanwhile, drivers from Praga’s native Czech Republic have started the season with impressive results. The first four rounds of the Carbonia Cup, which so far has visited Autodrome Most, Slovakiaring and Brno, has welcomed five R1s to the championship with rising star, Alex Tlustý, standing out in his rookie R1 season.

With a sprint race format, round one at Most on 7th April saw Alex Tlustý finish 10th overall and 2nd in class on his Praga racing debut, close behind fellow R1 driver, Jiří Ruml, who finished 8th overall and 1st in class.

The following month at Slovakiaring on 2nd May, Alex showed progression finishing two races in 9th and 10th overall (2nd and 3rd in class), while Jiří Ruml and Roman Vaca also finished within the first 10 cars and at the top of their class.

Round three at Brno on 11th June saw five R1 cars join the grid with Jiří Ruml, Filip Schön, Alex Tlustý, Roman Vaca and Tomáš Vojtěch on track, with Alex Tlustý showing impressive progression by winning the class as the fastest Praga on track.

Most recently, round four at Autodrom Most on 3rd July further proved the rising talent, as Tlustý finished 2nd overall and 1st in class, followed closely by Jiří Ruml who finished 4th overall and 2nd in class.

After five rounds with three rounds remaining, Jiří Ruml is currently in 3rd in the standings, while Alex is currently 5th in the standings, out of 98 drivers, with two rounds to go.

The final races in the Carbonia Cup will take place at Pannonia Ring on 8th August, Lausitzring on 14th September and Autodrom Most on 14th October.

USA

Over in the US, R1 drivers Martin Bruhat and Robert Haub are taking the FARA Series by storm as the current championship leaders in their first season competing as a pair in the R1, their results highlighting the R1’s outright performance potential and reliability.

Starting the season with the FARA Miami 500 at Homestead on 10th February, with a format of four sprint races and one endurance race per round, the team-mates proved to be an excellent match. Finishing the sprint races in 9th, 1st, 2nd, 7th overall (2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd in class), the points were boosted further by finishing 1st in class in the two-hour endurance race.

At the FARA Miami Grand Prix at Homestead on 31st March, a clean sweep in the sprint races of 1st, 1st, 1st, and 1st in class was inevitably followed by another 1st place finish in the two-hour endurance race, as their dominance across the points table became clear.

Round three, the FARA Sunset 500 at Sebring on 26th to 28th July, saw another set of impressive results, with Martin and Robert finishing 2nd, 2nd, 16th and 5th overall in the sprint races, and 1st place in the three-hour endurance race. Fellow R1 drivers Elliot Alexander and Peter Buckzinsky also competed over the weekend, with Elliot taking first place in the third sprint race, and Peter completing the three-hour race.

The next races on the FARA calendar take place at Sebring International Raceway on 20th to 22nd September and Homestead-Miami Speedway 22nd to 24th November.

Australia

The teams at Praga Racing ANZ and Zagame Motorsport have started the 2024 season with another roster of excellent results.

Returning to the Australian Prototype Series for the third year running, round one at Sydney Motorsport Park on 12th and 13th April played out the fairy tale story for new Praga driver, Ross Poulakis. Entering all three of the sprint races alongside former series winners on an experienced and competitive grid, Ross finished all three races in 2nd place in an exceptional first outing result.

Round two at The Bend on 8th and 9th June saw the introduction of the second R1 to the team, with British racing driver, Miles Lacey, joining the grid alongside teammate Ross Poulakis. While Ross succeeded in producing another three good results, Miles made an immediate impact on the podium with 3rd, 1st and 2nd place finishes.

The next rounds of the Australian Prototype Series will take place at Phillip Island on 4th to 6th October, and The Bend on 22nd to 24th November.

If you’re interested in competing in the R1, find your nearest R1 dealer here: https://pragaglobal.com/dealers/praga-cars-dealers-map/ or to contact the Praga team, write to us on info@pragacars.com.

Happy racing!

ENDS

PR contact:
Lucy Burman
Communications Manager, Praga Cars UK
lucy.burman@pragacars.com
+447801350641