W&S Motorsport happy about fourth place at the 24h race at the Nürburgring

The Vöhringer Porsche Cayman GT4 #186 was driven by Jürgen Vöhringer, Max Lamesch, Sébastien Carcone and Axel Duffner. In consistently optimal weather conditions, from eighth place in Cup3, Jürgen Vöhringer took up the race and kept the overview in the turbulent start phase. In the course of the race, thanks to the careful driving of all drivers and the perfect strategy of the team, several positions were gained and a podium position was within reach. However, in the midday hours on Sunday, the Vöhringer Porsche crashed in the high-speed Stefan Bellof-S section. The driver was responsive and was taken to hospital for further checks. There, the all-clear was given and the W&S Motorsport regular driver was uninjured.

In the AVIA racing Porsche Cayman GT4 #187, Heinz Dolfen, John Lee Schambony, Daniel Bohr and Andreas Gabler shared the work in the cockpit. Daniel Bohr started from seventh on the grid and quickly made up a few positions. For a long time, the drivers stayed in the top 3 of the class and the W&S Motorsport crew completed every pit stop without any mistakes. One hour after midnight, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS #187 was forced off the track through no fault of its own and hit the crash barriers hard. The driver was able to leave the badly damaged vehicle without any injuries.

In the Mundum Porsche Cayman GT4 #190 Guido Wirtz, Sébastien Perrot and Andreas Schaflitzl competed and started the marathon twice around the clock from ninth position. Wirtz took the start stint and defended the position. As the race progressed, the trio gained places with the tactical support of the team and final driver Schaflitzl passed the chequered flag after 24 hours in a great fourth place in Cup3.

Quotes after the race 

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "The 51st edition of the 24-hour race is behind us and was still a partial success for W&S Motorsport with fourth place in Cup3 with the #190. But it showed again that it is extremely tough and often unforgiving. Unfortunately, we suffered two serious accidents, which was another bitter setback after Monza. Of course, it is always important that both drivers are well. The whole team will continue to work hard to get us back quickly. Everyone showed full commitment and in some cases went far beyond their limits, which is something we can really be proud of and say a big thank you!"

"Regarding the accident of the AVIA Porsche Cayman GT4, which was simply shot off by a Cup Porsche during the night and even burned, I have to say that I have never experienced such an action in all my years in motorsport. Afterwards, the opposing driver didn't even have the decency to come by the neighbour's pit and check in with us. The incident was given a time penalty of 90 seconds by the race stewards, which in my opinion is clearly too little in a 24-hour race. We urgently need to think about how to punish this in the future. Accelerating too early at night in a Code 60 zone is immediately penalised with a DMSB penalty point and you have to serve a time penalty of several minutes. But if a car is shot off, almost burns out and is a total loss, there is not even half the penalty. Such minimal penalties will not prevent such incidents in the future, because they don't hurt. It's good that our driver came out of the wreckage without any injuries."

Patrick Wagner, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "We already arrived on Monday with top prepared cars and a motivated team. All three qualifying sessions on Thursday and Friday went absolutely smoothly. The drivers were able to prepare for the conditions and qualify for good grid positions. All three cars held their own very well for the first seven hours of the race until the first setback came in the night with the first accident. Until then, the AVIA racing Porsche Cayman GT4 was in second place. The next shock came three hours before the end of the race with the accident of the Vöhringer Porsche. So it was a great relief when we got the all-clear from the hospital that the driver had no injuries. Fourth place with the third Porsche Cayman GT4 is a good result after an otherwise black race. I would like to praise the entire team. The cooperation, motivation and stamina were impeccable and everything worked like a clockwork!"

Axel Duffner, Driver #186: "My 17th 24-hour race was consistently super until the accident. On all days the atmosphere in the team was great, the work of the crew top professional and my driver colleagues strong. Every year it is a very special week at the Nürburgring with Team W&S Motorsport and with friends, and it was again an impressive experience to drive around the Nordschleife with so many fans. I am already looking forward to next year's 24h Nürburgring."

John Lee Schambony, Driver #187: "After the accident during the night, we are all very frustrated. The driver's teammate woke up to find out that our car is no longer there and the race is over. Something like that always hits you hard. Until then we were very happy and the car was running fantastically. We would have liked to build on that until the chequered flag. But the Nürburgring has its own rules and determines fate, you have to accept that. I would especially like to emphasise that I felt very comfortable at W&S Motorsport, the team works professionally and the atmosphere was great."

Andreas Schaflitzl, Driver #190: "After tough battles in my stints, I am very happy about fourth place. I sat in the car a total of six times, which was very exhausting. Thanks to the strong job of my two cockpit colleagues and the pit crew, it was a wonderful weekend. I will contest my ninth 24-hour race again with W&S Motorsport and I am already looking forward to it. Thanks to everyone!"