First class win for W&S Motorsport in the GT4 European Series at Spa-Francorchamps

For Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still, the prospects on Friday were extremely promising. The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #38 was on the front row of the grid with 55 cars. Already in the second lap, starting driver Still was able to take the lead of the field with an experienced manoeuvre and led the race. Shortly before the scheduled compulsory stop with driver change on Kronberg, the drama took its course. Still rolled out without drive to Pouhon and had to stop the Cayman GT4 due to a technical problem. On Saturday, at the eighth round of the season, bad luck struck right after the start. In the turmoil of the first corner, an opponent spun in front of Kronberg, damaging the Cayman GT4's radiator and forcing him to stop the car.

Andrey Solukovtsev and Mikhail Loboda in the #37 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport showed a flawless race course on Friday. From pole position in the Am class and from the second row of the grid, both drivers prudently kept out of all fights. They managed the lead in the Amateur class and were rewarded with the victory. Saturday began for the #37 with a start from the 14th row. Fortunately, Solukovtsev was able to avoid the big accident in front of him but dropped back to 30th position. After more than 20 minutes behind the safety car, the race was resumed. But the joy was short-lived as he was hit in that same lap, lost coolant and retired the Cayman GT4 in the pits.

Races eight and nine of the GT4 European Series will be held at the Hockenheimring from 2 to 4 September 2022. At the home track of W&S Motorsport, the team from Baden-Württemberg wants to celebrate success again.

Quotes after the race

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "I am still lost for words. Of course, the joy about the victory of Andrey and Mikhail was very big and it is the deserved reward for the hard work in the last months. But unfortunately, we were again struck by bad luck this weekend. The team did a great job and on Friday an overall win by Max and Hendrik would have been possible. But the racing god just doesn't seem to mean well with us. We'll take a lot of experience from Spa with us and focus on our home race in Hockenheim."

Max Kronberg, Driver #38: "I still have to cope with the weekend. This rollercoaster of emotions was really intense. At first it looked as if we were going to take the overall win, but then a technical problem put an end to all our hopes. I couldn't avoid the collision right after the first corner on Saturday and the race was already over for us before it actually started. Now we have to sort ourselves out and then attack again in Hockenheim."

Andrey Solukovtsev, Driver #37: "To win the class on our third weekend in the series is incredible. Mikhail did an incredible job in the cockpit, and so did our whole team at W&S Motorsport. Unfortunately, we couldn't build on our success on Saturday, but our big goal is still to win the Am class."