W&S Motorsport Fights Through a Difficult Weekend in Monza

Class Victory on Saturday, Heavy Setbacks on Sunday – W&S Motorsport Looks Ahead to Spa

The second race weekend of the GT4 European Series at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was a weekend of contrasts for W&S Motorsport. A class victory on Saturday and the first race win of the season for Max Kronberg – but Sunday brought severe setbacks. Two cars retired following accidents, and crucial time was lost during a driver change. The team takes the lessons learned, analyses everything carefully and looks ahead to Spa with determination.

A Tough Environment

Monza welcomed the field in extreme heat – an additional factor that pushed both man and machine to their limits throughout the weekend. Nevertheless, the team showed fighting spirit across all four cars – including the Nova Racing Porsche #27, which W&S Motorsport runs – over the course of the entire weekend.

Race 1 – Class Victory for Blickle and Kronberg

In the PRO/AM class, all three cars had chances of a podium at various stages of the race. However, the #27 of Daniel Nilsson and Edvin Hellsten was spun around in the early phase and dropped to the back of the field.

The #31 of Tim Horrell and Alon Gabbay was on course for a podium until shortly before the end of the race, when Horrell was pushed into the gravel just a few corners before the finish line.

As a result, the hoped-for top results failed to materialise: the #31 finished tenth in class and 29th overall, the #32 of Joachim Bölting and Hendrik Still crossed the line in 11th in class and 30th overall, while the #27 ended the race in 12th in class and 32nd overall.

The highlight of the day came from the AM Porsche #30 with Daniel Blickle and Max Kronberg: the duo delivered a convincing class victory in the AM category and finished 14th overall. Particularly noteworthy: for Max Kronberg, it was his first race of the season in the GT4 European Series – and he won at the very first attempt. A strong statement.

Race 2 – A Sunday to Forget

Sunday proved difficult for W&S Motorsport. The #27 was involved in an incident at the start and dropped far back, but fought its way back to 14th in class and 30th overall. The #31 of Alon Gabbay and Tim Horrell was on course for the podium for a long time: Gabbay handed over the car in third place, but the driver change cost the duo crucial seconds and ultimately the podium position. The pair finished tenth in class and 26th overall.

The #32 and #30 were hit harder: Joachim Bölting was involved in a heavy collision at Turn 3 and struck the barriers with his car. Daniel Blickle also had a serious accident and rolled his car. Most importantly: both drivers were uninjured.

Analysis and Outlook

After a long night between Saturday and Sunday and a difficult second race day, W&S Motorsport takes important lessons from Monza. The goal is clear: come back fighting in Spa.

Results Overview

Voices from the Weekend

Tim Horrell (#31): “In the second race, luck was not on our side. On top of that, we had issues with my hand controls – a tough weekend, but we take the lessons with us and will come back fighting in Spa.”

Daniel Blickle (#30) looked ahead despite the accident: “The weekend didn’t quite go as we had hoped. I had an accident with a rollover – I’m fine. We still need to analyse exactly what happened. But in Spa we will give everything.”

Joachim Bölting (#32) remained composed despite the heavy impact: “The weekend was very difficult. We had prepared well and made a good start – then came the collision at Turn 3. I hit the barriers at 160 km/h, but I’m okay. The most important thing is that we are both safe and can continue in Spa.”

Team Principal Daniel Schellhaas: “On Saturday we had a great chance to bring two cars onto the PRO/AM podium. Two cars were taken out of the race through no fault of their own, and the third lost its position in the very last lap. That hurts particularly because we had no influence over what happened. Our hopes were high heading into Sunday. Unfortunately, we have now lost five chassis in Monza over three years. Looking at the numerous serious accidents this weekend, it is hard to imagine racing here in the future with such a competitive and closely fought field. For us, the weekend was a setback across all championships – and it was entirely out of our hands. The team did outstanding work throughout – now we turn our full focus to Spa.”

Next Round: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – 25–27 June