W&S Motorsport opened the season of the GT4 European Series in Imola at the weekend. The team of Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas started with two Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in a field of 48 vehicles. The cockpits were shared by Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still in the #38 car in the Pro-Am class and Andrey Solukovtsev and Mikhail Loboda (#37) in the Am class. The Kronberg/Still duo finished both races in fourth place in their class and eighth overall. Solukovtsev/Loboda fought their way to second place in the Am classification on Saturday, but struggled with technical problems in Sunday's race.

Team boss Daniel Schellhaas sums it up: “Our first weekend in the series is behind us and there were two exciting races. Our pilots asserted themselves very well in the hard-fought field. Of particular note is the podium finish for Andrey and Mikhail in the first race of the season. Max and Hendrik were also doing well and fought for the podium in both races. We can definitely build on that and we will attack again in France.”

There was already heavy traffic on the legendary racetrack in the Emilia-Romagna region during the first one-hour free practice session on Friday and both W&S Motorsport Cayman cars were in the top 20. This performance was continued in the afternoon during the second free practice session and places 16 ( #38) and 17 (#37) were on the tableau after the session.

On Saturday, the two qualifying sessions lasted 20 minutes each to chase times. Hendrik Still as a Pro driver set the first time of 1:49.758 minutes, which meant 13th place on the grid (7th place in the Pro-Am class). Only 0.9 seconds separated him from pole time in a tight field and Still was on a fast lap when qualifying was red flagged and stopped just before the time was up.

Am driver Mikhail Loboda placed the W&S Motorsport Porsche #37 in 24th place overall for the first race in the afternoon and thus secured pole position as the fastest driver in the amateur classification. In the second session, Max Kronberg qualified in 20th place (7th in the Pro-Am class). Andrey Solukovtsev ended the second qualifying session as the fifth-best Am driver (34th place overall), which was temporarily interrupted due to an accident and in the remaining seven minutes it was no longer possible to improve the time due to the tires cooling down.

First race and first podium

The first race over an hour started on Saturday at 5:25 p.m. with a rolling start. In the #38 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, Hendrik Still took on the first stint up to the mandatory pit stop and made up three positions on the first lap. After starting from pole position in the class, Mikhail Loboda in the #37 Cayman GT4 held his own in a tight field, which moved in a remarkably disciplined manner over the first 15 minutes of racing without incident on the 4.9-kilometer circuit.

In 20th place overall and third in the Am class, Loboda handed the wheel over to Andrey Solukovtsev after 15 laps. On lap 17, Max Kronberg took over the #38 from Still and settled into eleventh position. As the race progressed, two full course yellow phases followed after accidents, so that further battles for positions were no longer possible. Ultimately, the Kronberg/Still duo crossed the finish line in eighth place overall and fourth in the Pro-Am, just missing out on a place in the top 3. Loboda and Solukovtsev finished second in the Am classification and claimed their first podium of the season. In the overall standings, they took 21st place.

Second race with a surprising end

The second sprint race over 60 minutes started on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. A total of 47 GT4 cars were in the grid. Even on the first lap there was a safety car phase after an accident. Kronberg had already made up five positions and ended up 15th overall behind the safety car. Meanwhile, Solukovtsev was struggling with gearbox problems and was passed down to 45th position, but was then able to quickly gain positions again after the release after eight laps.

Kronberg drove calmly and consistently fast lap times. After twelve laps he headed into the pits in 13th position to hand over to Hendrik Still. Solukovtsev was out for two more laps before Loboda climbed into the #37 Porsche. After all teams had completed the mandatory stop, Still was already in eleventh place and fought hard but fair duels and three-way battles with the direct competition for positions. On lap 24 there were more accidents on the track and the gaps were frozen under Full Course Yellow. Under these conditions, the field finished the remaining nine minutes, so further gains in position were no longer possible. With another fourth place in the Pro-Am and eighth place overall, Kronberg and Still just missed the podium again. Solukovtsev and Loboda ended Sunday in eighth place in the Am classification.

"It was a successful start for us in such a hard-fought series," says Max Kronberg, who has mainly gained experience in long-distance so far. The Berliner continues: “Many thanks to W&S Motorsport for the perfect preparation and support of our car. Hendrik did a great job in both races and created plenty of excitement. We will attack again in eight weeks on the high-speed course in France. After our test drives on the track in February I am very confident.”

Andrey Solukovtsev summed up with mixed feelings: “Yesterday was an extremely successful start for us drivers and the W&S Motorsport team in the European GT4 Series and we are very happy with our first podium. The car was excellent and the strategy was right, so we were rewarded with second place. In the second race we wanted to build on this result, but gearbox problems thwarted our plans. We learn from that and come back stronger for the next race to fight for the podium again.”

The next round of the GT4 European Series will be held from June 3rd to 5th at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.