Jubilation at W&S Motorsport on GTC Race overall podium at the Lausitzring

Luca Arnold will be accompanied by Christer Joens as coach this season and Joens will stand in for Roland Arnold at selected races at the wheel of the Space Drive Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65, which will be used as a development car. Tim Horrell will be supported by Finn Zulauf. The GTC Race GT3 support driver entered the series with W&S Motorsport 2021 and will contest the season in the ADAC GT4 Germany as well as the Nürburgring Endurance Series with the team led by Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas.

A total of three races per weekend are staged as part of the GTC Race. In the one-hour GT60 race powered by Pirelli, there will be the option of changing drivers. The two 30-minute sprint races will be contested by one driver each. The starting positions will be fought for in the respective qualifying sessions. For the GT60 race Luca Arnold in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 could already set a first exclamation mark and achieved the fourth starting position. Immediately after the start, Luca Arnold engaged in a close duel for the lead of the field and came into the pits for a driver change after 21 laps and in the lead. Christer Joens climbed into the Space Drive Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 and sorted himself back into the race in second place. The experienced professional was able to hold this position until the finish and W&S Motorsport celebrated the second place overall and the class win in the PRO classification accordingly. 

Tim Horrell qualified the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #75 in 21st position on the grid and made up positions. After a drive-through penalty, Horrell was in 11th place in the GT4 class and handed over the car to Henry Schwalbach after 22 laps. The latter was also able to win duels and crossed the finish line in 17th place and 10th in class. 

Sunday was dominated by the GT Sprint. Luca Arnold contested both races in order to collect points in the Semi classification. He started the race from third on the grid in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 and defended his position. After making a mistake during a safety car phase, which resulted in a penalty, Arnold finished the first sprint race in 17th place. Tim Horrell took a seat in the cockpit of the #75 PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for the first sprint race and started from 22nd place. In 17th place overall and twelfth in the GT4 class, he saw the black-and-white chequered flag and thus secured victory in the Trophy classification.

On Sunday afternoon, Luca Arnold started the second round of the GT Sprint from fifth position. He drove the Space Drive Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 routinely over the distance and delivered exciting three-way battles for a podium position. Fifth place overall and in the semi standings were ultimately the maximum result after crossing the finish line. Henry Schwalbach started with the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #75 from the back of the field after a penalty. He was able to quickly gain positions in the starting phase and finished the second sprint race in 20th place and thus 13th in class. 

The ADAC Racing Weekend with the GTC Race events will make a guest appearance at the Nürburgring from 30 June to 2 July 2023, when drivers can once again expect three exciting races on the legendary circuit in the Eifel. 

Quotes after the race 

Patrick Wagner, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "The joint project with PARAVAN and Tim Horrell is extremely exciting and fun for the whole team. Tim is indescribably interested, committed and ambitious and continued to learn a lot on his second weekend. It's great to see how the drivers support each other to get better and better together. Luca has made huge progress in GT3 and brought us a podium, a well-deserved reward for his work. With Henry, we also see the learning curve rising in his debut year and he works hard to keep improving. I think we can be very successful again at the Nürburgring. To our whole crew, thank you for a strong effort at the Lausitzring!"

Luca Arnold, Driver #65: "I am very happy with the development over the weekend and I feel more and more comfortable in the GT3. We were able to drive and test a lot, so I was able to gain experience again. On Saturday I was able to put what I had learned into practice very well, which was also reflected in the results. It's great to see the progress Tim is making. You can clearly see that he is highly motivated and looks at the data very carefully. This is reflected in his performance, he managed a victory in the Trophy classification. Motorsport should be open to everyone - whether with or without a handicap. This is a matter of the heart for us. It's nice to see how he can realise his goals and what that means to him, that joy."

Christer Joens, Driver #65: "The Lausitzring was a very good start for the cooperation with the PARAVAN Racingteam and Luca Arnold, who showed a very big improvement compared to the first race. He can implement what he has learned very well. It gives me a lot of pleasure when you can pass on your expertise and also make a contribution to further development. We have the toughest conditions for man and machine here, everything is at the limit, whether it's steering, suspension, performance or tyres on the track, it's all about many small details. The insights definitely speed up the development."

Tim Horrell, Driver #75: "The second race of the season is over and some steps have been made in the right direction. I was able to gain more confidence in the car and learnt about another great track in the process. I can't thank my team W&S Motorsport and Finn Zulauf enough for their support. I am looking forward to the next race at the Nürburgring, a track that is on my European bucket list."