Points for W&S Motorsport after heat battle in GT4 European Series at Misano

Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still travelled to Italy in third place in the Pro-Am standings and wanted to build on their good results so far this season. But already on Friday during the first free practice there was a setback when the drive train of the RODOPI Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #30 already failed in the first lap and the duo thus had no practice time. The W&S Motorsport crew then got the car ready in time for the second free practice session in heat of almost 40°C. But again in this practice session, there were problems after six laps and the two drivers missed valuable time on track.

For the two twenty-minute timed practice sessions on Saturday morning, all three Porsche Cayman GT4s were then ready for action. In the first qualifying session, Hendrik Still put the #30 car in 18th place and sixth in the Pro-Am class. Sergey Titarenko qualified the #31 GEDORE Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 in 37th position on the grid. The #442 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, driven by Gustavo Xavier in the first qualifying session, took up the afternoon race from 39th position. Saturday's 60-minute race was marked by three safety car phases, making it difficult for the drivers and the team to find a suitable tactic. 

Hendrik Still defended the position of the RODOPI Porsche Cayman GT4 #30 during his stint and handed over the car to Max Kronberg after 17 laps. The latter finally settled down again in 18th position. After the third safety car phase and a time penalty of 10 seconds due to track limits, the Pro-Am duo was classified in 22nd overall and seventh in class. In the #31 GEDORE Porsche Cayman GT4, Sergey Titarenko took over the first half of the race and quickly gained positions. He was already in 26th place before handing over the cockpit to Vasily Vladykin at the mandatory stop. Vladykin drove consistently fast laps and defended his position. The two Silver Cup drivers finished their first race in the GT4 European Series in 26th place overall and 16th in the Silver class. Gustavo Xavier took up the heat battle in the #442 Porsche Cayman GT4 from 20th on the grid and gained places as the race progressed. Taylor Hagler then took over the wheel and also made up positions. The duo eventually finished 31st overall and twelfth in the Pro-Am class.

On Sunday morning, Max Kronberg started with the #30 RODOPI Porsche Cayman GT4 alongside the #31 sister car on the 15th row of the grid. In the middle of the field, Kronberg defended himself to head for the pit lane after 15 laps for the mandatory stop. Hendrik Still was already in the fight for a Pro-Am class podium in the second half of the race when he had to stop the car after 27 laps with a puncture. Vasily Vladykin kept a cool head after the start in the hotly contested midfield. The young talent was in 28th place before the driver change to Sergey Titarenko. After 35 laps, Titarenko finished the second guest start in 27th place and thus 20th in the Silver Cup. From 32nd position, directly behind the two W&S Motorsport Porsche in 15th row, Taylor Hagler took up the competition and also held her position. After a spin, the US American sorted herself into 40th place and fought her way back to the middle of the field. Gustavo Xavier then also managed to gain positions. After 35 hot laps, points were awarded for fifth place in the Pro-Am class and a conciliatory result with 25th overall.

On the first weekend in September, the GT4 European Series will be at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg. W&S Motorsport will then be aiming for another strong result at their home race. 

Quotes after the race 

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "Luck is somehow not on our side this season. Max and Hendrik had less time to get used to the track and the conditions due to technical problems. Then there was the puncture on Saturday in a promising position. We wanted to score a lot of points in the Pro-Am classification after the double retirement in Monza, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Taylor and Gustavo were able to fill our account at least on Sunday. Taylor made big progress again in her third weekend in the GT4 European Series. Vasily and Sergey held their own remarkably on their series debut. We would love to see both of them compete in more races with us as a team. I would like to express special thanks to our crew, who managed to repair the drivetrain twice in the heat at Misano, a mega achievement! At the home race in September at the Hockenheimring, we want to build on our strong result from last year. There we managed pole position twice, two class wins and two Pro-Am podium finishes."

Max Kronberg, Driver #30: "The fourth weekend of the series did not go as we had hoped. First, double bad luck with technical problems, plus the puncture on Sunday. W&S Motorsport gave everything again to get the Porsche Cayman GT4 back on the grid for Hendrik and me, thank you! It is a pity that the effort went unrewarded. I am now looking forward to the races at Hockenheim, Hendrik and I were on the podium there on both days, so that should be our goal there again!"

Vasily Vladykin, Driver #31: "Having competed in the British GT Championship this season, I knew the GT4 European Series would be close. But it is precisely this challenge that appeals to Sergey and me. The hot days in the Adriatic did not make it easy for man and material, but W&S Motorsport did a professional and super job. In the end, I am satisfied with our debut in the strong environment and was able to learn a lot." 

Taylor Hagler, Driver #442: "It was a hot weekend at Misano, but I felt we took another step up in pace with our Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. The track at Misano is really cool and reminds me of Paul Ricard because of the wide and twisty layout. We had a few problems during the weekend. But we worked hard to recover from them and I am very grateful to the W&S Motorsport team for their efforts."