W&S Motorsport returns to GT4 European Series competition with two strong podiums at Le Castellet

W&S Motorsport regulars Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still took to the wheel in the Rodopi Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #30. The duo qualified for the race on Saturday in ninth position on the grid and thus third in the Pro-Am classification. Hendrik Still defended his position after the start and a long safety car phase until he handed over the car to Max Kronberg. He was able to keep up with the pace of his opponents at first, then calmly allowed the competitors in the Silver classification to pass fairly and steered the #30 Porsche Cayman GT4 across the finish line in 15th place overall and third in the Pro-Am classification. The duo thus clinched their first podium finish of the season.

US-American Taylor Hagler reinforced Gustavo Xavier in the second Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #442 at the weekend. Starting from position 42, Gustavo Xavier took up the sprint race over 60 minutes and made up some positions in the first laps before handing over the Porsche to Taylor Hagler after 30 laps. The US-American showed her potential as she was able to match the lap times of her brand colleagues and finished the race in 37th place overall and eleventh in the Pro-Am classification. 

For Sunday's race, the cards were reshuffled with 53 starters. Max Kronberg was on the 30th grid position with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #30 in the middle of the large starting field of GT4 cars. With a level-headed start, Kronberg quickly gained places and came into the pit lane early for a driver change in 24th position. Hendrik Still was in 22nd place after the end of the pit stop window when heavy rain set in and caused turbulent minutes. Still decided to change to rain tyres early on and accepted the mandatory three-minute minimum pit time, which turned out to be the right tactic afterwards. He saw the black-white-checkered flag in 17th overall and third in the Pro-Am standings, and was once again on the class podium with Max Kronberg.

Taylor Hagler lined up 46th on the grid in the #442 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. After 12 laps and in 36th place, she handed the car over to Gustavo Xavier. The Swiss with Brazilian roots opted for a different tactic than the sister car in his stint and stayed on slicks. In the increasingly heavy rain he had his hands full keeping the Porsche on the track and showed an impressive performance in difficult conditions. He finished in 37th place and tenth in the Pro-Am standings.

The next stop and season highlight of the GT4 European Series is the fascinating Ardennes rollercoaster in Belgium from 30 June to 1 July 2023 as part of the legendary 24h Spa-Francorchamps 

Quotes after the race

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal W&S Motorsport: "After a difficult start to the season in Monza and the busy weeks that followed, the two podiums feel like a victory for the whole team, who I would like to thank everyone again for their efforts. In the two turbulent races we were able to prove that we can come back even stronger after setbacks and score points at the highest professional level. The rain in the second race added to the excitement on the Côte d'Azur. Max and Hendrik drove with cool heads and were rewarded accordingly with decent points in the Pro-Am. Taylor and Gustavo still have to find their way in the series, but are on the right track. W&S Motorsport will support both of them until the next race in order to keep the learning curve rising. I am looking forward to the races in Spa with confidence. Last year we did extremely well there, and we want to build on that."

Max Kronberg, Driver #30: "Once again we had to realise how high the level is in the GT4 European Series and how close it is on the track. After the disaster in Monza, the two podiums are very good for everyone. Hendrik was able to put our car on the podium again on Sunday thanks to a timely change to rain tyres, and the joint tactics of W&S Motorsport were perfectly chosen here. We will use the time until races five and six in Spa-Francorchamps for analysis in order to attack again there and finish even higher up in the overall standings. Thanks to the whole crew at W&S Motorsport for two successful races!"

Taylor Hagler, Driver #442: "I am very happy with my first weekend in the GT4 European Series with W&S Motorsport. The GT4 category is new to me and we focused on improving in each session and learning about the car and the difficult track at Paul Ricard. We made up a lot of ground throughout the weekend. I would like to thank the team and my teammates for all their hard work and I look forward to competing with the team at Spa in a month's time."