W&S Motorsport founds W&S Motorsport Academy for the specialised promotion of young talent and driver development

Before the start of the season, academy participants complete a workshop in which they are trained in key areas such as physical and mental fitness, nutrition, learning data and video analysis tools, media and management training. Optimum preparation on the W&S Motorsport race simulator is also part of the workshop.

W&S Motorsport has been able to recruit experienced experts for the respective specialist areas for the Driver Academy, giving the drivers new opportunities to give their careers a boost. The W&S Motorsport Academy is divided into three pillars: Skills, Health and Management.

In the "Skills" area, the focus is on perfect preparation for the season to enable the drivers to make a successful start, as well as learning the data and video analysis tools, the processes within the team and training in the simulator.

The "Health" area, which includes fitness and nutrition, will be monitored and optimised throughout the season so that the drivers can also prepare themselves physically and individually for the race weekends in the best possible way.

The "Management" pillar includes media appearance, social media, sponsorship and management. Participants are familiarised with the most important key topics away from the racetrack and shown how to best present themselves to the public.

"We are delighted that we have been able to create another important pillar in our motorsport company with the W&S Motorsport Academy," says W&S Motorsport Team Principal Daniel Schellhaas. "Junior and amateur drivers have the opportunity to develop their skills through professional training and workshops in various areas. I am proud that we have been able to recruit experienced experts for the respective specialist areas and build up the academy with them."

Team boss Daniel Schellhaas is the head of the W&S Motorsport Academy. He was a successful kart and racing driver himself and knows exactly what is important on the race track. As chief engineer of the racing team, he utilises this experience and works together with an experienced team of engineers to develop set-ups and strategies for the race weekends.

Finn Zulauf teaches the academy participants what it takes to celebrate success from the perspective of a driver who has gone through the excellent school of W&S Motorsport and has achieved numerous victories and podium finishes for the team since 2021. He supports them in working with data analysis tools, teaches them the basics of a race car to develop a technical understanding and better assess a setup, and helps them learn the workflow for race weekends.

Klaus Graf was a champion and race winner in the American Le Mans Series and took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The ex-professional racing driver will also support the academy participants with his knowledge and experience and can also establish the necessary contacts for a move to higher racing classes in his role as Sports Director of a GT3 team.

For the fitness topic, the W&S Motorsport Academy was able to recruit Arne Greskowiak from ago.sport, a genuine world champion. Arne Greskowiak is the athletics coach for the German national basketball and ice hockey teams and became world champion with the German Basketball Federation in the summer of 2023. He creates individual fitness and nutrition plans for the drivers and carries out regular performance diagnostics to check their level of performance.

Julia Spacek joined W&S Motorsport in 2022 as PR and Team Manager. She has worked in Formula 1, DTM and FIA WEC, among others, and has extensive PR experience. In a workshop of the Driver Academy, she practises various interview situations with the Academy participants and they learn how best to present themselves in front of a camera or on social media.

"The aim is to achieve victories and championships together in the respective classes of the various GT4 racing series. After successfully completing the W&S Motorsport Academy and achieving good race results during the season, the drivers have a realistic chance of switching to higher-class racing series and later recommending themselves for a GT3 cockpit. We can also support them in this and provide the relevant contacts through our broad network," adds Schellhaas.

W&S Motorsport is happy to receive enquiries from interested drivers who would like to join the W&S Motorsport Academy.