Walkenhorst Motorsport with a fightback and strong team spirit

After a difficult start to the race weekend, Walkenhorst Motorsport showed an impressive race to catch up at the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup season finale.

The 2024 season of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup ended at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. The Formula 1 circuit in Jeddah is regarded as the fastest street circuit in the world and presented the teams and drivers with special challenges. Walkenhorst Motorsport travelled with three Aston Martin Vantage GT3s to the race track directly on the Red Sea.

The race weekend began on a bitter note for Walkenhorst Motorsport. David Pun in the Bronze Cup car with the #36 hit the track barrier heavily in the Bronze Test on Thursday. The chassis was irreparably damaged, meaning that Pun, Ben Green and Mex Jansen were unable to contest the rest of the race weekend. In addition, the car of Romain Leroux, Lorcan Hanafin and Maxime Robin caught fire in pre-qualifying on Friday, forcing the mechanics to work a night shift to get the #35 car back on the grid.

‘The start to the race weekend couldn’t have been more difficult for us. My thanks go in particular to our team. It was impressive how Lorcan, Romain and Maxime’s car was completely rebuilt by our guys overnight after the fire in the pit lane. At least we were able to contest the race with two cars,’ says Managing Director Jörg Breuer.

The top car of the three factory drivers David Pittard, Ross Gunn and Henrique Chaves also experienced a difficult start to the race day. After a technical defect in qualifying, the #34 car had to start the race from last place on the grid. Within 40 minutes, Gunn stormed up from 47th place to 33rd. Thanks to a clever strategy decision by the team during a neutralisation phase of the race, the driver trio was even able to make it into the top 10! After two penalties in the final third of the race due to contact with another car and a mistake at the pit exit, the #34 car was ultimately classified in eleventh place and narrowly missed out on the points.

Romain Leroux, Lorcan Hanafin and Maxime Robin contested a largely unremarkable race after the energy-sapping repairs the day before and saw the chequered flag in sixth place in the Silver Cup after six hours of racing on the high-speed track. The young drivers were thus able to round off the season with another points finish.

‘After a difficult start to the weekend, we were able to show our true capabilities in the race! The #34’s race to catch up was great and it was a pleasure to watch! Unfortunately, the penalties prevented us from finishing in the top 10, which would have been more than deserved after the performance on and off the track,’ concluded Niclas Königbauer.

Walkenhorst Motorsport will now begin preparations for the 2025 season, which they hope to start stronger with the experience gained with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The team will announce details of the racing programme at a later date.