ADAC GT4 Germany season 2022 - Tough competition with happy ending for W&S Motorsport

Work in the cockpit during the 60-minute races in the Porsche Cayman GT4 #30 was shared by Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still over the six weekends. The AVIA racing Cayman GT4 #31 of AVIA W&S Motorsport was driven by Finn Zulauf and Nicolaj Møller Madsen, who was replaced at the finale by Lukas Schreier. Leo Pichler and Leon Wassertheurer also competed for W&S Motorsport in the Porsche 718 GT4 MR #32 at the season opener in Oschersleben and at the Red Bull Ring. 

First successes at the start of the season 

The ADAC GT4 Germany season kicked off at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben at the end of April. Zulauf and Møller Madsen finished the first race on Saturday in fourth place with a very narrow gap of 0.3 seconds and Zulauf celebrated second place in the Junior classification. Kronberg and Still saw the chequered flag in tenth place and thus in the points. The third W&S Motorsport Porsche Cayman GT4 was involved in an accident. For the second race Still put the Cayman GT4 #30 on the second row of the grid and fought for a long time for a podium position. Kronberg brought the car across the finish line in sixth place after a safety car period and thus again in the points. The two crews of the Porsche Cayman GT4 #31 and #32, on the other hand, were unlucky; they were involved in accidents and did not finish Sunday's race. 

The second round in May was held at the Red Bull Ring in Styria. The Cayman trio of W&S Motorsport scored few points after technical problems and other accidents. Only Finn Zulauf and Nicolaj Møller Madsen collected important points in the championship with fifth place on Saturday. Zulauf also finished third in the Junior classification. Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport, said after the weekend: "I have rarely witnessed such a chaotic race as on Sunday. Our speed was there to finish in the top 7 with two cars and even on the podium with Nicolaj and Finn. But unfortunately, our opponents threw a spanner in the works. Second place on the grid on Saturday showed that we have the potential to be up front." 

Significant improvement in second third of season rewarded with podium 

On the last weekend in June, the series hosted a race in the Netherlands. At the Circuit Zandvoort, intermittent rain ensured plenty of racing action. On Saturday, both pilot duos Kronberg/Still and Møller Madsen/Zulauf successfully completed a turbulent race in strong fourth and fifth places. On Sunday, the AVIA racing Cayman GT4 #31 had to be stopped prematurely for safety reasons, while the W&S Cayman GT4 #30 finished in eleventh place in the sprint in the dunes at the Dutch North Sea. 

After the summer break, the ADAC GT4 Germany competed at the Nürburgring. With the best weather in the Eifel on the first weekend in August, the conditions were almost ideal. Møller Madsen put the #31 AVIA racing Porsche Cayman GT4 on the front row of the grid for Saturday's race with a strong qualifying lap and drove a long time for the overall win with a strong pace. Zulauf brought the #31 home in third place and the team of Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas celebrated their first podium of the year and Zulauf first place in the Junior Trophy. On Sunday, the driver duo finished the race in eighth place as the best Porsche crew. Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still also had a strong pace in both races. They finished the first race in twelfth place and in race two, Kronberg, who was on course for the podium, had to retire the car a few minutes before the end of the race due to a technical problem. 

Victory at the season finale in Hockenheim 

The uphill and downhill course of the Sachsenring was on the agenda at the end of September. Both Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport finished in top 10 positions in the two races. The #30, driven by Kronberg and Still, saw the chequered flag in tenth place on Saturday. The sister car #31 in AVIA design crossed the finish line in fifth position after tough duels and Finn Zulauf was happy about third place in the Junior classification. On Sunday, the team and the drivers seamlessly continued their strong performance and put both cars on the second row of the grid in positions three and four as the fastest Porsches in the field. In the end, Kronberg/Still finished in seventh place after tough duels, with Zulauf/Møller Madsen right behind in eighth. "I am very proud of the team and the four drivers. That was mega strong work and with a bit of luck we could have done even better. Finn did brilliantly and proved his steep learning curve again. We were the fastest Porsche in the field and set some of the fastest lap times in the race. The competition in the ADAC GT4 Germany is tough and at the highest level", Team Principal Daniel Schellhaas summed up the weekend. 

The best result in the fierce competition was achieved by W&S Motorsport at their home race at the Hockenheimring on the last weekend in October. Here, Lukas Schreier replaced Nicolaj Møller Madsen alongside Finn Zulauf in the AVIA racing Cayman GT4 #31. The newly formed driver duo harmonised perfectly and managed to climb onto the podium on Saturday with third place. This performance was then topped on Sunday and Zulauf/Schreier celebrated the race win of the final round together with W&S Motorsport. Kronberg/Still also offered strong racing and finished the first race in fourth place and the second race in fifth, thus collecting valuable points in the standings once again. AVIA W&S Motorsport finished their first full season in the ADAC GT4 Germany as the fifth best team, just two points behind fourth position. 

Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas are already planning their entry for the coming season to once again fight for top positions and victories. The line-up and crews will be announced by W&S Motorsport in the new year when the race dates have been fixed by the ADAC. 

Enthusiastic conclusion from the team and drivers 

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "In all twelve races our Porsche cars were always among the fastest in the tight field. Unfortunately, this pace was not rewarded on many occasions. But in the end we were able to finish the season with a victory and look back on a great debut season thanks to the excellent performance of the drivers and the whole crew. We want to build on this in 2023 and perform even better. The ADAC GT4 Germany is a fantastic series and racing at the highest level. It's exactly the challenge we're looking for!" 

Hendrik Still, driver #30: "There are always ups and downs in sport. Max and I did our best and were able to achieve success. He has shown an incredibly strong development over the year and hopefully we can achieve even better results next season together with W&S Motorsport. The team works at an indescribably high professional level and always in a great mood. Ideal conditions to achieve top performance in the cockpit. This is exactly where we will then continue to work together and compete for victories." 

Finn Zulauf, driver #31: "Extremely close and relentless, that certainly describes the ADAC GT4 Germany appropriately. I had incredibly much fun behind the wheel and always had a superbly prepared car from W&S Motorsport. The overall win at the finale was the well-deserved reward for the hard work of everyone involved. I am already looking forward to next season and would like to fight for top results again then. The potential of the overall package of car, teamwork and driver performance is definitely there to have a say in the championship. Thanks to Patrick and Daniel's team for everything, you are simply a strong squad!"