Fabienne Wohlwend takes victory on first GT Summer Series appearance at Hockenheim
Fabienne Wohlwend made an impressive debut to the GT Summer Series at Hockenheim, taking a class victory and two second-place finishes across the three races to showcase her pace throughout the weekend.
Fabienne Wohlwend made an impressive debut to the GT Summer Series at Hockenheim, taking a Cup2 class victory and two second-place finishes across the three races to showcase her pace throughout the weekend.
Making her series debut at the German circuit after a previous GT Winter Series appearance last year, the Liechtensteiner drove the #92 Porsche 992 Cup car entered by SA Performance, combining her driving duties with her role as a coach for the team. Racing as a solo driver also gave Wohlwend valuable additional seat time following her NLS duties, and she made the most of the opportunity on a circuit she knows well and which is among the closest venues to her home in Liechtenstein.
Wohlwend brought considerable experience to the weekend, having competed extensively in both single-seaters and GT machinery during her career, including her time in W Series. The reigning Indian Racing League champion had now the chance to build on her familiarity with the Porsche 992 Cup car, with Wohlwend having started working with SA Performance as a coach last year and now combining coaching with driving responsibilities at Hockenheim. The weekend therefore represented not only a competitive return behind the wheel but also an opportunity to continue developing her experience while helping other drivers within the team.
That pace was immediately evident in practice, with Wohlwend setting a 1:43.096 in Practice 1 before carrying the momentum into qualifying. She improved to a 1:41.863 in the opening qualifying session, taking pole position in the Cup2 class by half a second, while also placing herself fourth overall against the wider GT field. In Q2 she posted an almost identical 1:41.834 to secure another Cup2 pole, this time by 0.066 seconds.
Wohlwend lined up from Cup2 pole and fourth overall for the opening race, making an excellent launch when the lights went out and immediately moving into third overall. Her strong start allowed her to pass one of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 cars, although the significantly higher downforce of the GT3 machinery soon allowed the Audi to recover the position.
Wohlwend settled into her own race and concentrated on establishing a clear advantage in Cup2. The #79 Lamborghini GT3 was also making progress through the field, while Wohlwend was able to focus on the class battle with Reinbold as her closest direct rival. She quickly created a significant gap, while also having to negotiate the recovery of several GT3 cars further down the order.
Once in clear air, Wohlwend demonstrated the strength of her pace, recording a 1:42.895 and opening more than seven seconds over the second-placed Cup2 car by lap five. She was consistently more than a second per lap quicker than her class rival, allowing the gap to continue growing throughout the first half of the race.
Fabienne maintained a consistent rhythm in the 1:43s over the following laps, with the Cup2 advantage approaching 10 seconds by lap 10. With the class battle effectively under control, she began to manage her tyres during the final 10 minutes, maintaining a comfortable margin.
She brought the #92 Porsche safely to the chequered flag to claim a dominant Cup2 victory, finishing seventh overall. Having started from class pole, Wohlwend had controlled the race from the opening laps and converted her qualifying advantage into a convincing first victory of the weekend.
Wohlwend returned to the grid for the second sprint race from sixth overall and another Cup2 pole position, although she was boxed in through the opening corners, which allowed Paul Hochberger to move ahead and take the class lead, with Wohlwend immediately attempting to fight back at the entry to the Motodrom.
The battle for the Cup2 lead developed alongside the overall fight, with GT3 traffic passing the two Porsche Cup cars while Wohlwend also had to keep Urs Frick behind. On the second lap, she successfully regained the lead and immediately began trying to build a gap over Hochberger.
Wohlwend set a 1:42.393 as she pulled approximately one second clear, although Hochberger remained in contention and reduced the deficit again by lap five. At the same time, Wohlwend found herself in the slipstream of Martin Hansen's #11 Porsche GT3 and needed to clear the faster traffic without allowing Hochberger to gain too much ground.
Her pace remained consistently in the 1:42s, and after negotiating further GT4 traffic she once again established a small cushion over Hochberger. The gap fluctuated as both drivers matched one another closely, but Wohlwend maintained approximately eight tenths of a second over her rival and controlled the race from the front.
The second sprint therefore proved much more closely contested than the opening race, but Wohlwend again had the final word, crossing the finish line seventh overall and approximately 0.8 seconds ahead of the #911 XR Racing Porsche to secure her second consecutive Cup2 victory.
An unfortunate post-race penalty, however, altered the final classification. Wohlwend was handed a 10-second penalty for an incorrect position at the start, dropping her to second place in the Cup2 results. She had followed the cars ahead at the start and was therefore caught by the same issue that also resulted in penalties for the #79 Lamborghini and #74 Porsche. Despite the penalty, she still retained a podium result and had once again demonstrated clear class-winning pace.
The weekend concluded with the longer 50-minute race on Sunday afternoon, giving Wohlwend an opportunity to complete what had already been an extremely strong Hockenheim weekend. She lined up seventh overall and once again at the head of the Cup2 field, targeting a clean sweep across the three races.
Hochberger made a strong launch from alongside Wohlwend and moved up to sixth overall, while Wohlwend settled into eighth overall and second in Cup2. The early stages saw an incident involving the #12 Porsche GT3, which was turned around at the hairpin, allowing Wohlwend to gain an overall position.
She immediately began closing the gap to Hochberger, setting a 1:43.3 before responding to her class rival's 1:42.9 with a 1:42.997 of her own. The #911 Porsche also maintained the pace, as Wohlwend had to balance her attack on the class leader with the need to manage traffic from the GT3 cars.
Wohlwend could nevertheless focus on Hochberger ahead and began reducing the gap, gaining a full second on lap nine. She maintained a strong and consistent first stint before entering the pit lane from second in Cup2 on lap 12, with 27 minutes remaining. The timing of the stops temporarily shuffled the order, with Hochberger and Frick remaining on track for longer while Wohlwend rejoined in third place.
Frick eventually pitted on lap 15, allowing Wohlwend to move back ahead, while Hochberger stayed out until lap 17 before handing the car over to Marco Reinbold. When the pit cycle was finally completed, Reinbold emerged ahead of Wohlwend with a seven-second advantage.
Wohlwend immediately went on the attack: she was gaining more than half a second per lap on Reinbold, reducing the gap to five seconds by lap 22. Her pace continued to improve as she pushed through the closing stages, with a 1:43.9 allowing her to gain another full second on lap 24 before making a further gain on the following lap.
With only three minutes remaining, however, traffic from the GT3 field again became a factor. The overall leader came through, forcing Wohlwend to lose several tenths in the process and leaving her with very little time to complete the recovery.
Wohlwend pushed all the way to the chequered flag, but she crossed the line only four tenths of a second behind Reinbold, taking second place in Cup2 and narrowly missing out on what would have another win.
Despite that final near miss, Hockenheim represented an excellent weekend for Wohlwend. She was immediately competitive from practice, secured both Cup2 poles, dominated the opening sprint race, fought through a much closer second race and then came within one lap of recovering the lead in the longer final race.
"After a dominant lights-to-flag class win on Saturday, we started the second race day highly motivated", Wohlwend commented. "In the morning sprint race, I was able to show my pace once again and took another convincing class win on track. After the race, however, I received a penalty for not being correctly positioned within the starting corridor. I simply followed the car in front as usual and gained no advantage from it. Despite the penalty, I still finished P2 in class. Of course, the penalty is a shame, but for me the most important thing is that I was able to show my pace on track and once again crossed the finish line first in my class."
"In the endurance race in the afternoon, I got held up a little at the start and initially had to settle into P2. We also lost some time during the pit stop, so the second half of the race was all about full attack", Fabenne continued. "With a strong comeback, I managed to close the gap again, but unfortunately I was missing exactly one more lap to make the decisive move for the class win."
"All in all, it was an amazing weekend in Hockenheim and I’m incredibly proud of our entire SA Performance team! We showed what we can achieve together. Once again, a huge thank you to all our partners, sponsors and supporters who made this special race weekend possible. We’ll work hard over the winter, and I really hope we can be back on the grid together next year."
