Janina Schall and ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern secure podium in junior ranking at the 24h of Wackersdorf

Janina Schall and the ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern secured a strong 12th place overall and 4th in class at the 24h of Wackersdorf, earning a podium finish in the Junior Trophy awarded at the three-hour mark, thanks to a consistent performance.

Photo credits: GTC

The ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern with Janina Schall secured a podium place in the junior ranking during the 24h of Wackersdorf as part of the German Team Challenge.

As the season highlight of the German Team Championship, the first Junior Trophy class is awarded at the intermediate three-hours mark, and saw the team featuring Janina Schall claiming third place in class.

The German Team Championship (GTC) is considered the largest championship in German kart endurance racing. Here, drivers of all ages compete in various classes for class and overall victories. The annual season highlight is the 24h of Wackersdorf, in which Janina Schall took part with the ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern (start number 16). Her teammates were Leon Helfert, Matteo Schall (her brother), Marco Nuber, Sascha Zuck, and Moritz Groll. As the name suggests, the team competed in the Junior Trophy or Trophy class.

The special feature of this class is the promotion of young talent through a special classification in the race. The participating teams contest the overall race with all other drivers and classes, but are given a separate flag after just three hours. However, this does not mean that the 24-hour race is over for the teams concerned; it merely signifies the end of the race for the Junior Trophy classification.

From that point on, the teams in this class continue to compete for the overall ranking and are allowed to field their older drivers. However, to ensure competitiveness throughout the entire race, there is no division of classes in the overall ranking at any point—everyone races each other regardless of classification.

Among the nearly 40 participating teams, the ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern secured 22nd place on the grid (9th in class). With very close gaps as per karting tradition, especially on shorter tracks with lap times under a minute—the gap to the leaders was barely a second.

After a few formation laps, the flying start of the endurance race took place at 2 p.m. local time in summer weather. Especially at this early stage, when the karts are still tightly bunched, there were many duels and overtaking maneuvers: The #16 Tony Kart was able to move up to 19th place early on, but slipped back to 21st and 8th in class after just a few laps.

Afterwards, they battled with #53 from ASL team and with MSC Oberflockenbach. This fighting group remained together for the entire first stint before the first pit stops took place an hour later.

At the start of these first pit stops, the ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern was running in 18th place overall with their #16 Tony Kart and had climbed to 7th in class.

With no speed limiter, the pit stop procedure required the karts to stop before a designated line at the pit entrance, then stop again to check minimum weight on a scale. Afterward, they must drive behind a team member walking in front of them to the pit area. Since only eight tyres are allowed for the entire race weekend, tyre changes are sparse.

Typically, only a driver change and refueling take place—and that was the case with the #16. The whole procedure took a few minutes, and with lap times around 58 seconds, the team dropped to 20th place, though they retained their class position. During the second stint, they were able to close a 14-second gap to the driver in front from Team Rubin and overtake them.

With the complex pit stop procedure, it’s not surprising that things occasionally go wrong, prompting race control to respond firmly. The #91 overdid it with pace and committed further violations, resulting in a total penalty of 5 minutes—more than 5 laps. The #16 benefitted from this, gaining a position as one competitor dropped back. At the same time, they were closing the gap to their next opponent, Cool Runnings.

However, both teams also received 10-second penalties for exceeding the speed limit. Not only did the Juniorteam remain unfazed by this, but they also managed to leave Cool Runnings behind. With a strong pace and a late, flawless second stop, they temporarily moved up to 10th overall and held 4th in class before their own pit stop dropped them back to 19th—this time just 4 seconds behind Cool Runnings. The gap remained consistent, with neither team able to gain a clear advantage.

That changed after 2.5 hours when the first safety kart was deployed. A competitor's fuel line had come loose, causing their kart to stop on track and require recovery. After a few minutes, the race restarted briefly for the sprint classification, followed by another short safety kart period. The second, final restart came 15 minutes before the crucial three-hour mark. Since many teams used the safety kart periods for pit stops, the Juniorteam was pushed forward—securing bronze in the Junior Trophy classification.

Now that the older team members were allowed to drive the Junior Trophy karts, the #16 also came into the pits for a driver change after the Junior classification had ended, with Janina Schall heading out on track for the first time. She didn’t have to deal with Cool Runnings for long, as they were struggling with technical issues.

Instead, at the start of the fifth hour, they encountered an old acquaintance from the opening phase—MSC Oberflockenbach—but were initially unable to close the 10-second gap. That changed after about 17 minutes when another safety kart was deployed. The #55 crashed and came to a stop at the side of the track, requiring recovery. This time, the Juniorteam used the yellow period to pit and dropped to 17th during the driver change. After the restart, the field quickly became jumbled, with everyone on different strategies leading to frequent position changes.

By the seventh hour of racing, the #16 was back in 13th overall and 3rd in class, but now two laps behind the class leader. At least the gap to the kart directly in front could be closed thanks to another safety kart, triggered when the #14 was unable to continue after a collision. After the restart, the green flag didn’t stay out for long; the #4 lost a front wheel and crashed, prompting another safety kart period.

Janina Schall’s team benefited again, gaining positions and closing gaps. After these interruptions and the pit stops following seven hours of racing, the Juniorteam was in 11th overall and 3rd in class, though now one lap behind. However, the race had now settled into its rhythm, with positions stabilizing by nightfall.

Shortly after the halfway point of the race, at 2:30 a.m. local time, Janina Schall returned to the kart. The team had managed to maintain its positions in both the overall and class standings up to this point, but after the stop, the gap to second in class was already three laps, and five laps to the leader. Their alternate strategy briefly saw them re-enter the top ten, running just behind Team ZAP.

About 70 minutes into her double stint, another safety kart was called. The #69 kart from MSC Stammheim II by SolidBan lost a rear wheel and had to retire. The restart came after 14 hours of racing.

The rest of the night remained quiet, with position changes driven primarily by pit strategies. After 20 hours of racing, the ADAC Juniorteam Südbayern remained in 11th place and fourth in class—15 seconds behind third, but seven laps down on the class leader. Thanks to a consistently fast and safe pace, they were able to establish a comfortable gap to their pursuers, ensuring no immediate threat from behind.

Janina Schall began her final stint two hours before the end of the race. Just in time for the finale, all teams fielded their best drivers again. The Juniorteam had to concede one position in the overall standings but managed to defend their class position until the end. Finishing 17 laps behind the overall winner, they crossed the line in 12th place overall and 4th in class, behind FaF Racing. Their fastest lap of 58.567 seconds was less than a second slower than the fastest lap of the race.

After a strong recovery in class and a solid overall result, the team can be satisfied with the completed race and a Junior Trophy bronze—despite eventually just missing the class podium.