Podium for W&S Motorsport at the GTC Race at the Nürburgring

The third GTC Race weekend, which was held as part of the ADAC Racing Weekend, kicked off on Friday evening with qualifying for the one-hour GT60 powered by Pirelli. Roland Arnold, Managing Director and founder of PARAVAN GmbH, who shares the cockpit with his son Luca, qualified the PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 for sixth on the grid, but had to start the race from ninth place after a penalty. The paraplegic US-American Tim Horrell qualified for the 24th starting position in the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #75, which was modified for him. He steers the GT4 bolide by hand, a throttle ring on the steering wheel specially developed by PARAVAN GmbH and a hand lever for the brake enable him to control the car.

On Saturday, the weather in the Eifel showed its unfriendly side. Frequent heavy rain showers and strong winds made for difficult conditions on the 3.629-kilometre sprint version of the Nürburgring's Grand Prix circuit with its eleven corners. At 9:40., the water was on the asphalt at the start of the timed practice: Wet Session - the rain did not allow for a reasonable lap and early on there was the first interruption. Luca Arnold qualified the #65 for position six and thus for the third row of the grid, before a second interruption due to the red flag did not allow any further laps and qualifying was not resumed. Due to the stoppage, Tim Horrell was unable to set a scored lap time. So he started the first sprint race with the #75 from the back of the field.

On Saturday afternoon, the track was still wet for the timed practice of the second sprint race. Luca Arnold secured fourth place on the grid with the PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 for the final competition on Sunday and Henry Schwalbach with the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 #75 clinched position 20 on the grid. 

Gloomy clouds opened the floodgates on Saturday as the field set off on the formation lap late on slick tyres at 17:00 to take on the GT60 powered by Pirelli. All cars immediately headed for the pit lane to pick up rain tyres. After the cars lined up behind the safety car for the restart at 17:20, Roland Arnold with the PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 was in ninth position and Tim Horrell with the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 #75 in 23rd. In difficult visibility conditions in the heavy rain, Roland Arnold took no risks, moved in the middle of the GT4 field and handed over the car to Luca Arnold after the twelfth lap. He quickly caught up with the GT3 field on the drying track. He crossed the finish line in 13th place overall. Henry Schwalbach took over the #75 PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 from Tim Horrell after 17 laps in 23rd place. The youngster, who is fighting for a promotion place in the GT4 squad of the GTC Race, crossed the finish line in 21st place after 29 race laps.

On Sunday for the two sprint races, the weather was friendlier. Luca Arnold took the first race in the morning over 30 minutes from the second row of the grid from position three after penalties were handed out for the opponents after qualifying. Luca Arnold, who is contesting his first season in the PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65, held his own over the entire distance in thrilling wheel-to-wheel fights and took a commanding third place overall. Tim Horrell started from the back of the field and began a race to catch up in the #75 PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, which was rewarded with second place in the Trophy after crossing the finish line.

The final competition of the weekend in the Eifel started in the afternoon. Luca Arnold started the race in the GT3 car #65 from fifth position and made a strong start to reach position two-three. However, after spinning in the first lap, he had to regroup at the back of the field to make up lost places. After 19 laps he passed the chequered flag with the PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 #65 in sixth place overall and fourth in the semi-pro classification. Youngster Henry Schwalbach in the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 #75 was in the thick of the action at the start in 20th place. In the end, he finished in 24th place overall and ninth in the Junior Trophy.

The next ADAC Racing Weekend will be held at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben from 28 to 30 July 2023. Then W&S Motorsport, the successful team of Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas, will once again fight for points and podiums in the three GTC Race competitions. 

Quotes after the race 

Patrick Wagner, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "The weather conditions throughout Saturday were very critical at times and the demands on the drivers and crew were equally high. The jump onto the overall podium for third place on Sunday felt good and we are particularly happy about second place in the Trophy for Tim. He continues to work incredibly ambitiously and is quickly learning how to drive the specially converted Porsche Cayman GT4. Finn Zulauf again provided strong support for Tim and Henry. I would like to thank our entire team and drivers for their efforts and look forward to the next races at Oschersleben."

Roland Arnold, Managing Director PARAVAN GmbH and Driver #65: "The weekend was very demanding. We used the test time optimally for preparation and made a good leap forward. Qualifying also went well, but the GT60 was a real challenge considering the weather. All in all, we can be very happy with the results and the third event. It is great to see how Tim Horrell is developing and finding his way more and more into racing. This is equality in action on the race track and extremely important to show that it is possible."

Luca Arnold, Driver #65: "The learning curve this weekend was again very big. We were able to make very good use of the test day and started the weekend optimally prepared. The changing conditions during qualifying were very challenging, with a good result. In the GT60 on Saturday we were able to start a catch-up. Sunday was a very successful and instructive day for me, with a podium finish in the first race. In the second race I started in fifth position and was able to make up two positions. Unfortunately, after a spin, I had to start from the back of the field again. In terms of times, we were very good. I would like to thank the W&S Motorsport team for their professional support."

Tim Horrell, Driver #75: "It was a challenging weekend learning a challenging track. I thank both my team W&S Motorsport and PARAVAN for their continued support in getting me comfortable with the car. I am looking forward to the next event where we will continue to make steps forward."