W&S Motorsport celebrates another podium and class victory in the GTC Race at Spa-Francorchamps

The penultimate weekend of the season began with rain and posed a challenge for the drivers, who were racing on the legendary circuit in the Belgian Ardennes for the first time. Tim Horrell in the PARAVAN Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #30 mastered this best and set the fastest practice lap in the GT4 class in the first free practice session. In qualifying for the GT60 race, his team-mate Hendrik Still was the fastest and secured pole position for the one-hour race. In a close finish, Horrell crossed the finish line in third position and took his first GT4 podium. It was the well-deserved reward for the hard work of the last few months for the paraplegic American, who has been able to improve continuously. He finished seventh in GT Sprint 1 and third in the Trophy classification, but in the second sprint race he had to retire his car in the pits while leading due to a technical problem.

Marko Elser and Nico Gründel in the #31 were able to increase their pace over the course of the weekend and finished sixth in the GT60 race. Elser finished fourth in the first GT Sprint race, narrowly missing out on the podium. Gründel finished sixth in the second sprint race.

Moritz Berrenberg in the sister car #32 got to grips better and better with the 7.004-kilometre track and steadily improved his performance. He finished eighth in the GT60 race and sixth in the first sprint race and second in the Trophy. In the second sprint race, he crossed the finish line in fifth place and winner of the Trophy classification.

For Luca Arnold and Marvin Dienst in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #99, the GT60 race was over early on after starting from second place and temporarily taking the lead due to a technical problem. In GT Sprint 1, Arnold finished second after a great chase to catch up and was once again on the podium. He finished third in the second sprint race. In the GT Sprint Championship, he had to relinquish the lead and is now one point behind.

In the GT4 championship GT60 powered by Pirelli, Horrell is in fourth place, just two points behind the third-placed driver. Elser/Gründel are sixth ahead of Berrenberg in seventh place. In the Trophy classification, Berrenberg (80) leads ahead of Horrell (77.5). So, it remains exciting until the final race of the season at the Nürburgring from 11 to 13 October.

Quotes after the race

Patrick Wagner, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "We are very happy about Tim's first GT4 podium in the GT60 race. He drove superbly all weekend and was rightly up there with Hendrik. The hard work over the last few months has paid off and hopefully we can repeat this at the finale. Marko, Nico and Moritz have got to grips with the track better and better and have improved. They all know the Nürburgring from the race weekend a few weeks ago and we want to finish the season with good results."

Tim Horrell, Driver #30: "I made lots of improvements to my driving this weekend which resulted in my first overall podium of the year. Couldn’t have done it without the help and coaching from my teammate Hendrik. As always it would not have been possible without the support from my team W&S Motorsport and PARAVAN. We will work together to come back stronger in preparation for the last event of the year at the Nürburgring."

Moritz Berrenberg, Driver #32: "It was a very exciting weekend at Spa, especially as we didn't have a test day and free practice took place in the rain. We went into qualifying with practically no experience in the dry, which meant that I had to start all the races from the back of the grid. But over the race distance, I was able to get used to the track and implement the advice from the team, so that in the end I had the pace to be a good contender. Driving the Eau Rouge completely without brakes took a lot of effort at the beginning, but it worked out well and was a lot of fun!"

Luca Arnold, Driver #99: "The results are respectable, even though we could have achieved much more if we hadn't been hit by the defect witch in the GT60, which is a shame. The circuit at Spa-Francorchamps is a challenging track and it was great fun. On Sunday, we finished on the podium twice in the GT Sprint and now we'll see if we can strike back at the Nürburgring. The championship is not yet decided. Many thanks to the whole team."