W&S Motorsport completed an intense GT4 Winter Series weekend in Estoril and bounced back with strong results on Sunday after an unlucky Saturday.
A challenging start with rain-hit test days
Thursday and Friday were dominated by heavy rain, strong winds and repeated red-flag interruptions. On day one, the final session had to be cancelled due to heavy rain, and on day two the track remained wet throughout despite short rain breaks. Tim Horrell and Frederik Zebis still managed to complete plenty of important laps without any technical issues. Joachim Bölting sat out on Friday due to an eye infection to make sure he was fully fit for the race weekend.
Qualifying: Solid starting positions for both Porsches
In qualifying 1, the #30 Porsche Cayman GT4 with Tim Horrell/Frederik Zebis finished 4th overall and 2nd in Pro-Am. The #32 Porsche Cayman GT4 with Joachim Bölting secured 3rd overall and 1st in Am. In qualifying 2, the #30 Porsche took 6th overall and 4th in Pro-Am, while the #32 Porsche finished 9th overall and once again topped the Am class.
Race 1: Early retirements after a chain reaction
Saturday’s opening race ended early for both W&S Motorsport entries. Joachim Bölting (#32 Porsche Cayman GT4) was battling a BMW when the car ahead moved under braking. Bölting had no room to avoid contact and the cars collided. Tim Horrell (#30 Porsche Cayman GT4) was directly behind, had no chance to react and was caught in the chain reaction as well. Both cars retired.
The team then worked through the night until 2 a.m. to get both Porsches repaired and ready for Sunday.
Race 2: Strong results on Sunday morning
In race two on Sunday morning, the #30 Porsche Cayman GT4 with Tim Horrell/Frederik Zebis still finished 3rd overall and 2nd in Pro-Am despite a penalty. The #32 Porsche Cayman GT4 with Joachim Bölting won the Am class and finished 7th overall.
Race 3 (one-hour race): First dry race – Pro-Am win and another Am class victory
The final one-hour race was the first session on a dry track after three and a half days. Frederik Zebis started the #30 Porsche Cayman GT4, the pit stop went smoothly and Tim Horrell took over for the second half. Horrell/Zebis finished 2nd overall and secured the Pro-Am class win. The #32 Porsche Cayman GT4 with Joachim Bölting finished 6th overall and claimed another Am class victory. After an unfortunate start and involvement in a start incident, Bölting brought the car home safely to seal the team’s second class win of the day.
Team Principal Patrick Wagner:
“Estoril was a weekend of extreme conditions and plenty of twists. After the early double retirement on Saturday, the team gave everything overnight to get both cars back on track – and Sunday’s results were the reward. With the #30 Porsche we took the Pro-Am win and an overall podium, and the #32 Porsche delivered two Am class victories. What mattered most to us was that, after all the wet running, we had a strong package straight away in the first dry race. That’s what we’ll build on.”
With valuable points and important learnings from Estoril, W&S Motorsport now turns its focus to the upcoming rounds of the GT4 Winter Series.
