AVIA W&S Motorsport celebrated its first overall victory of the season at the ADAC GT4 Germany debut at the Norisring, also taking third place overall, three class victories, two second places in class and starting Sunday's race from the top three positions with all three cars.

Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp started from pole position on Sunday in the AVIA racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport #31, ahead of their team-mates Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still (#30) in second place and Tano Neumann and Alon Gabbay (#9) in third. In a thrilling race on the 2.162-kilometre street circuit in Nuremberg, all the drivers showed strong pace and after 63 laps the team of Patrick Wagner and Daniel Schellhaas were able to celebrate their victory.

Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp secured their first overall victory together in the fiercely contested race series and were also victorious in the junior classification. Max Kronberg and Hendrik Still took third place overall for the third time this year and Kronberg once again won the Trophy classification. Tano Neumann and Alon Gabbay achieved their best result of the season so far with fifth position and Neumann finished second in the Trophy classification.

In the heat battle on Saturday, Kronberg took victory in the Trophy and finished fourth overall with his team-mate Still. Zulauf/Knopp crossed the finish line in twelfth place ahead of Neumann/Gabbay in 13th.

At the halfway point of the season, Zulauf/Knopp are in second place in the drivers' standings and Kronberg/Still are third. Zulauf/Knopp lead the Junior championship and Kronberg is first in the Trophy ahead of his team-mate Neumann in second spot. AVIA W&S Motorsport is in second place in the team standings and in a good position to defend the title.

Quotes after the race

Daniel Schellhaas, Team Principal AVIA W&S Motorsport: "The Norisring was new to us and in the weeks leading up to it, we spent a lot of time getting to grips with this special street circuit and analysing it. The days at the circuit were long for the team and the drivers, but it paid off in the end. Once again, we showed our strength as a team across all cars. Thanks to the drivers for the great teamwork and to the entire team! We are looking forward to the next races!"

Alon Gabbay, Driver #9: "We had an incredible weekend! The Norisring was a new track for me and I enjoyed every moment. Our pace was good all weekend. The second qualifying session was fantastic with my best GT4 career result in third place. In the second race we finished in fifth position, which is the best result for me and Tano so far. I would like to thank my team for the great and professional job everyone did this weekend and I am happy to be a part of W&S Motorsport! Thanks to my team-mate Tano and my coach Marvin for the great work!"

Max Kronberg, Driver #30: "It was a really good weekend! Fifth place in qualifying on Saturday and fourth in the race. And on Sunday we were even able to top that with second place on the grid and third overall. It is a great result for us and we are very happy about it! We are in third place in the drivers' championship and that is more than we had expected before the season. We hope that the second half of the season will be just as successful."

Josef Knopp, Driver #31: "It is my first win in the ADAC GT4 Germany and I am over the moon. I can't even describe how great it feels! We had a strong pace in the race and fought well to stay in front until the end. Many thanks to the team for a top car and to Finn for allowing us to celebrate this success together!"