Successful weekend with double podium in first race and another podium on Sunday
AVIA W&S Motorsport celebrated a successful weekend at the fourth round of ADAC GT4 Germany at the Sachsenring. With three podium finishes across two races, the team demonstrated strong form. Hendrik Still and Philipp Gogollok finished second in the first race, while Alon Gabbay and Thomas Gore completed the double podium with third place. On Sunday, Lachlan Robinson and Oskar Kristensen secured the third podium finish.
Qualifying 1: Still claims second place
In the first qualifying session, Hendrik Still secured a strong second position with the #1 Porsche, laying the foundation for the later podium finish. Lachlan Robinson (#31) initially qualified third but had to start the first race from sixth due to a penalty. Maximilian Schreyer (#32) achieved 12th place, while Thomas Gore (#30) started from 13th.
Qualifying 2: Kristensen benefits from penalties
The second qualifying session saw Oskar Kristensen (#31) finish fifth, but he moved up to third on the grid for the second race due to penalties for other drivers. Philipp Gogollok (#1) secured sixth, Alon Gabbay (#30) ninth, and Luciano Schneider (#32) started from 18th.
Race 1: Double podium after strong comeback drive
The first race developed into a Porsche festival. Hendrik Still showed strong pace from the start: “I had good pace right after the start and I’m super happy with second place. After the victory at the Nürburgring, this was another important step for us.”
Meanwhile, Alon Gabbay and Thomas Gore delivered an impressive comeback drive from 13th to third. “Going from 13th to third is absolutely fantastic and my first podium this season,” Gore celebrated. Gabbay added: “Tommy had a really good start and I was able to maintain the pace. I had pressure from behind at the end, but I held my ground and we finished third after penalties for other drivers.”
Robinson and Kristensen (#31) finished the race in 10th after bad luck in their fight for the podium: “Contact on the last lap took the podium away from us,” Robinson lamented.
Race 2: The weekend’s third podium finish
The second race brought the weekend’s third podium finish. Robinson and Kristensen started from third and successfully defended their position to the checkered flag.
“Race 2 was great with a fantastic stint from Oskar at the start,” Robinson reported. “I was able to gain a position and get us onto the podium. From there it was about managing the tire degradation to the end.” Kristensen was delighted: “We made up for Saturday with third overall and second in the junior classification. It was fantastic teamwork from everyone involved.”
Still and Gogollok (#1) finished fifth, Gore and Gabbay (#30) tenth. Schneider and Schreyer (#32) climbed from 17th to 13th: “We were able to gain several positions and we’re satisfied to finish in the points,” Schneider noted.
Team principal draws positive conclusion
Team principal Daniel Schellhaas was thrilled: “After very intensive weeks at the Nürburgring and testing at the Sachsenring, we delivered a great team performance and collected many points for the team championship. The entire team worked together brilliantly across all cars this weekend. We made virtually no mistakes and I’m very proud of the whole team and all the drivers. We all know what we need to do and we’re looking forward to the Red Bull Ring.”
Outlook
With three podium finishes, AVIA W&S Motorsport collected important points and looks ahead optimistically to the Red Bull Ring. “Now we’re looking forward to the Red Bull Ring and will do our best to hopefully achieve another podium,” Gabbay said.
The successful Sachsenring weekend underlines the strength of AVIA W&S Motorsport. With three different driver pairings on the podium, the team proved its consistency and depth.
