AVIA W&S Motorsport scores ADAC GT4 Germany overall win and a total of six podium finishes at Zandvoort

The foundation for the excellent weekend was laid on Friday afternoon during qualifying for the first race. Strong laps by the drivers secured pole position in all three classifications for the racing team from Ofterdingen. David Jahn drove the GEDORE Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #31 to the overall pole position in a fabulous lap time of 1:41.102 minutes with an impressive 0.91 seconds gap to the second-placed driver. Daniel Gregor put the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #75 in third spot behind its sister car to take the Junior pole position. The RODOPI Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #30, driven by Max Kronberg in the first qualifying session, started the one-hour race from first place in the Trophy standings and 17th overall.

In summery conditions on Saturday, the lights gave the go-ahead for the sprint at 10:15. David Jahn retained a commanding lead with the GEDORE Porsche Cayman GT4 #31 and led the race unchallenged until the late driver change after 18 laps. Jannes Fittje took over the cockpit and continued to lead the field. He defended first place against any attack from the chasing pack, passing the chequered flag as the winner and securing AVIA W&S Motorsport's first ADAC GT4 Germany victory of the 2023 season.

Daniel Gregor started the first race from third position. Keeping a cool head straight after the start, he moved into second place behind his teammate David Jahn. The AVIA racing Porsche Cayman GT4 #75 then came in at the same time as the sister car for the compulsory stop with driver change and Finn Zulauf took over the wheel. Zulauf first lined up in fourth position, then overtook skilfully and took third place for AVIA W&S Motorsport and victory in the Junior classification for himself and Daniel Gregor.

Max Kronberg in the #30 RODOPI Porsche Cayman GT4 had his hands full in the middle of the field, attacking to the front and defending to the rear. After 17 laps he handed over the car to Hendrik Still in 15th place. After 32 laps and due to decreasing engine power, third place in the Trophy and 20th overall was the maximum in Saturday's ADAC GT4 Germany race for the driver duo. 

The second chapter of the AVIA W&S Motorsport success story on the North Sea coast was written on Saturday evening. For the twenty minutes of qualifying for the starting positions for the second race, Hendrik Still climbed into the #30, Jannes Fittje into the #31 and Finn Zulauf into the #75 car. Fittje secured fifth position in the #31 GEDORE Porsche Cayman GT4. Next to him on the grid was Still in the #30 RODOPI Porsche Cayman GT4 in sixth place. Eighth position was taken by Zulauf in the AVIA racing Porsche Cayman GT4 #75.

Jannes Fittje maintained fifth position in the starting phase and the following laps after a safety car phase, despite 15 kilograms of success ballast for the victory the day before. After 14 laps he drove the GEDORE Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #31 into the pit lane for a compulsory stop with driver change and handed over the car in fifth position to David Jahn, who immediately continued the hunt for podium places and fought his way up to third place with skilful manoeuvres. After 33 laps, Jahn crossed the finish line in third place, securing AVIA W&S Motorsport another podium and valuable points in the championship. The duo occupy third place in the drivers' standings after four races.

Alongside the sister car, in sixth place on the grid, Hendrik Still started the fourth race of the season in the #30 RODOPI Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. Still defended himself routinely in the door-to-door duels and after 19 laps Max Kronberg climbed into the cockpit of the #30. Kronberg withstood the pressure of the chasing pack for a long time and finally brought the Porsche to the finish in eleventh place overall and second in the Trophy. 

Starting from eighth position in the AVIA racing Porsche Cayman 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #75, Finn Zulauf took up the chase through the North Sea dunes. Throughout his stint, Zulauf found himself in close three-way battles in the top 10 and thus for important points. On lap 16 and in seventh place, he then handed over to Daniel Gregor. Seamlessly, Gregor continued the competition with his direct opponents. He finished the race in tenth place and thus third in the Junior standings.

Races five and six of the ADAC GT4 Germany season will be held at the Nürburgring from 4 to 6 August 2023. AVIA W&S Motorsport wants to build on the results achieved there. 

Quotes after the race 

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "The knot has been broken and we are back on the road to success! Our first overall win this year, all three cars with a podium in both races, plus pole position yesterday, are an unbelievably good result. That was fantastic work from the whole team! It is a great feeling to go home after such a successful weekend, but we will not rest on our laurels and will give everything at the Nürburgring to continue scoring maximum points. Many thanks to David and Jannes, Max and Hendrik and to our two youngsters Daniel and Finn for great racing. Also big praise to the whole crew who worked concentrated over all days and made the successes possible with this professional job!"

Max Kronberg, Driver #30: "I came to Zandvoort as the leader of the Trophy standings, which we wanted to defend, which didn't quite work out. Considering the engine problems on Saturday and two tough races in general, I am very happy with second and third place in the Trophy. Both Hendrik and the team contributed a lot here again. In general, we did very well and took away important points. Congratulations to the teammates for the really strong results. My goal is to get back to the top of the Trophy standings at the Nürburgring."

David Jahn, Driver #31: "A great result for us this weekend at Zandvoort. First the pole position, then the start-finish victory yesterday and today third overall after a difficult race are strong results that we can be very happy about. The performance was right, Jannes drove confidently and the team strategy was perfect. We want to continue this success until the end of the season and will give everything to lead the standings at the Nürburgring!"

Daniel Gregor, Driver #75: "A thoroughly successful weekend for us in the ADAC GT4 Germany. We were able to win the Junior classification yesterday and celebrate third place overall and score valuable points in the championship. The battles today were very close but always fair and we are happy with third place in the Juniors. Both races were a lot of fun, but could perhaps have gone a little better. The next chance to race for victory in the junior classification or even for overall victory will come at the Nürburgring. Many thanks to Finn for a strong performance at the wheel and to AVIA W&S Motorsport for a perfect car on all days."