W&S Motorsport and AVIA on joint mission to defend title in Nürburgring Endurance Series

AVIA and W&S Motorsport are also on the hunt for success together in the ADAC GT4 Germany. The Dane Nicolaj Møller Madsen and the German young talent Finn Zulauf will drive a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in the unique AVIA design. 

Stephan Hauke, responsible for sports marketing at AVIA, about the cooperation: "We are very happy to enter the GT3 class in the NLS with W&S Motorsport as a professional and successful partner. The new Cup Porsche is a fascinating car and the Trophy is an excellent opportunity to present the AVIA brand. It is important for us to continue to support motorsport in the future and with regards to eFuel, Porsche is a pioneer among manufacturers here. The mix of our permanent driver crews consisting of young talents and experienced successful drivers will provide the necessary action in the races and we can certainly celebrate top results. We are looking forward to what is guaranteed to be an exciting and successful endurance season!" 

Team Principal Daniel Schellhaas shares the same enthusiasm: "As a partner and lubricant supplier, we are delighted to cooperate with AVIA in the NLS as well and we have put together a great package with the two Porsche and the driver crews for the Endurance Trophy. The whole team and the drivers will give their best to deliver outstanding results in the classes." 

AVIA W&S Motorsport's driver line-ups 

The Nordschleife experts Tim Scheerbarth (33/Dormagen) and Daniel Blickle (43/Albstadt) will compete for the squad of Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992. The current model of the manufacturer from Stuttgart produces over 500 hp and will be close to the top of the field in terms of lap times. Scheerbarth and Blickle already secured the coveted Cayman Trophy in the Cup 3 class together with Max Kronberg at the eighth NLS round last year. In the newly created "Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring", two classes will be fighting for the title from this season onwards. The spearhead is the Cup 2 class, in which the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992 is entered. The various Porsche Cayman GT4 models collect their points in the Cup 3 class. At the end of the season, a champion is crowned who could come from either class. AVIA W&S Motorsport has set itself the goal of winning the Trophy again. 

Tim Scheerbarth knows the Nürburgring and its peculiarities better than almost any other driver. In 2011, he became overall champion of the VLN Endurance Championship and numerous class victories in the series as well as at the 24h race in the past years with GT3 and GT4 cars from different manufacturers mark his path so far. His team mate Daniel Blickle is also a Nordschleife expert and has years of experience in the Green Hell. The businessman from Swabia has been successfully competing in endurance racing in a production-based Porsche Cayman since 2017. After entering the SP10 class with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS in 2020, he switched to Cup 3 with the team last season. 

The sister car, the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, the winning car from last year, also features a promising line-up. Here, Marius Rauer (23/Willstätt) and Sebastian Vittel (FRA) take turns at the wheel. 

Since 2017, Marius Rauer has mostly contested his races in a TCR car and is now venturing into the cockpit of a GT4. The young driver from Baden began his motorsport career in 2011 in karting and was already able to celebrate his first successes the following year. He proved his talent in the DMV NES 500 and in his first NLS races. He is joined by Sebastian Vittel from France, who has also competed in the NLS. 

The other drivers who will be joining the two duos will be announced at a later date. 

Team Principal Daniel Schellhaas explains: "By winning the Cayman Trophy in our inaugural season in the Cup, we have already set our bar quite high for this year. We are now taking on the mission of defending the title with the new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 992. It's fantastic that Daniel and Tim are still on board. Both are experienced, reliable and fast drivers. The crew of the Cayman GT4 also promises success in Cup 3. We are aware that it will not be an easy undertaking and that there will again be many top-class drivers in the field taking the wheel. We're looking forward to eight exciting races in the Eifel and fair, hard-fought competition on the Nordschleife!" 

"With our new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, we're moving up into the top league. The car is simply mega and my anticipation is huge. Together with Tim, I will do my best to defend our title. Big thanks to AVIA for their support this year and, of course, to my team W&S Motorsport, who I have trusted for years. I can’t wait for the season to start!", says Daniel Blickle.

Tim Scheerbarth adds: "As the reigning Trophy Champions, we are the hunted in Cup 2 this season. We will go full throttle with AVIA W&S Motorsport to climb onto the podium at every round and keep the Trophy in the team. But as we all know, it ain't over until it's over and the Nordschleife is always known for surprises. I am well prepared and highly motivated for this challenge. Let the games begin!" 

"The anticipation for the upcoming season is huge and I am looking forward to the next step with the GT4 Cayman. I already feel very well looked after at AVIA W&S Motorsport and I know that the team will support me professionally. Cup 3 will certainly be strongly contested and competitive again, which is exactly the environment I'm looking for to continue my personal development behind the wheel," explains Marius Rauer. 

"I have known the team for a long time and have full confidence in the crew, who always prepare our cars excellently and look after us in the very best possible way. Our AVIA racing Cayman looks great and with Marius by my side I will do my best to deliver strong results. It won't be easy, but the challenge is accepted and we want to attack," says Sebastian Vittel. 

The Nürburgring Endurance Series will start on Saturday, 26 March 2022 at 12:00. The first race will be held over the standard time of four hours and can be followed in the livestream on the homepage www.vln.de and on the YouTube channel of the NLS https://www.youtube.com/c/VLNOFFICIAL. A total of eight rounds are on the calendar, with the 12-hour race over two days in September forming the new highlight alongside the 6-hour race in July.

• 18 - 20 March – Test
• 26 March – 67th ADAC Westfalenfahrt
• 09 April – 46th NIMEX DMV 4h Race
• 23 April – 53th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy
• 25 June – 45th RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen
• 09 July – ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Race
• 09 - 11 September – 12 Hours Nürburgring
• 08 October – 54th ADAC Barbarossapreis
• 22 October – PAGID Racing 46th DMV Münsterlandpokal