Race reports

Race report

On September 6, 2025, the teams CDS – Team Red (Johann Solowej and Ingo Snel) and CDS – Team Green (Nino Hultsch and Oliver Utz) competed in the “Indy 6 Hours” race. Team Red fielded a Porsche 911 GT3-R (992), while Team Green ran a Dallara P217. Despite an unscheduled pit stop following an incident, Team Green managed to secure a solid fourth place in their class. Meanwhile, Team Red was plagued by bad luck, bad strategy decisions, and technical issues.

Preparation

Johann: “We built our own setup for the race, which made us feel equally confident and safe under all weather conditions—hot, cool, light rain, wet, and drying track. The most important part came from Markus, but everyone contributed. As a result, we had plenty of training time and felt quite optimistic. Ingo was slightly faster than me in dry conditions during practice and test races, and significantly faster—about one second—in the wet.”

Attempt 1

On the 2:00 PM server, rain was expected during free practice, qualifying, and the race start, followed by half an hour of drying conditions and then another bout of rain.

In qualifying, Johann set a safe lap time on his first run, then took more risks on the second lap, which earned him 7th place on the grid in his class.
During the first lap of the race in rainy conditions, Johann initially lost two positions but made it through the start phase without incident. As the track began to dry and slicks became theoretically faster than wet tires, Johann and Ingo decided not to pit, opting instead to wait for the next rain phase. Although the session was already declared “dry,” the team remained on wet tires and struggled with rising tire temperatures. When the anticipated rain failed to arrive, Johann pitted with tire temperatures at 105°C to switch to slicks.

Before that, the CDS Porsche had contact with another car on the short straight between T12 and T13, resulting in minor front aero damage and an optional 18-second repair. The tire change took longer than refueling, so the Porsche, still unrepaired but now on fresh slicks, rejoined the race with Johann at the wheel. The first full stint went smoothly until the driver change, with the team running between P2 and P9 depending on strategy.

Johann: “Unfortunately, in lap 74, Ingo was taken out in Turn 1 by a dive-bombing LMP car. After the collision, the front bumper was damaged and the steering was misaligned. We decided to repair the car, but in the rush, we forgot to cancel the tire change and ended up going back out unrepaired after the tire swap—only to pit again immediately and serve the 2-minute repair time.

We actually had good pace, but due to the accident that wasn’t our fault, we fell more than a lap behind. Since there was another race start scheduled later in the day, we decided to retire.” – DNF.

Attepmt 2

The iRacing gods weren’t on the team’s side this time. Technical issues began as early as free practice:

Johann: “My SimHub dash kept shutting off repeatedly. Restarting the phone and SimHub didn’t help. It just kept turning off. Not a big deal—I often drive without it and only rely on the extra display for longer races. Ingo’s steering wheel was giving off strange force feedback jolts.”

The weather on the 6:00 PM server was different: dry during free practice, with drizzle starting right at the beginning of qualifying and expected to intensify about 15 minutes into the race.

During qualifying, the team made the wrong call in the tire gamble: they went out on wet tires, but the track didn’t get wet enough, and slicks would’ve been the better choice. Johann: “We had simulated a similar situation in practice, and back then the track got wet faster and wet tires were faster. Just bad luck—P30 out of 34 GT3 cars.”

Starting a race from the back is always risky, especially in the rain. To avoid potential pileups, Ingo opted to start from the pit lane. Although the field made it through the first lap without major incidents, the CDS Porsche had already gained five positions by lap two. Unfortunately, Ingo was forced off track in a battle for another position in Turn 2, but managed to rejoin safely at the back of the field. The comeback drive continued relentlessly.

Initially, the track was too dry for wets, but after about 15 minutes, conditions were wet enough. Just then, Ingo lost connection to the race server (packet loss). After several lag-induced contacts, a full disconnect occurred in the final sector, resulting in a 1:10 tow time. Johann, completely unprepared (barely managing to cancel the tire change), was suddenly in the car with a full tank and used wet tires.

“Right on the outlap after the back straight, my screen went black for about two seconds,” Johann recalls. “I deliberately drove off the track since I was in traffic—luckily no crash, just lost a few positions and got back on. Because of the disconnect, we were already a lap down, and by reglement I couldn’t defend against attacks. Within a minute, an exciting comeback turned into a miserable cruise with incomplete telemetry and no spotter. When Ingo’s connection finally returned, it was still unstable, and we had to decide how to proceed. That probably cost me focus, and in Turn 14 of lap 43, I lost the rear and ended up facing the wrong way on the inside of the corner exit. Instead of towing the car (we wanted to pit for slicks anyway, and it would’ve only cost less than one minute at the start of the main straight), I stayed on track and tried to turn around. That attempt led to a heavy collision—six minutes of mandatory repairs wiped out any hope of a competitive race. With no confidence that Ingo could meet his minimum drive time and four laps down, we saw no point in continuing and ended the Saturday evening completely frustrated. But I couldn’t get the race—and especially the technical issues—out of my head. My family had planned the evening without me anyway, so I tried reinstalling SimHub and rejoined the race server for testing. Suddenly everything worked, the car ran great, and I drove as long as I was allowed without violating the ‘fair share’ rule.”

Ingo: “After we decided to park the car, I watched a movie with my wife. When she went to bed, I got back on and drove for nearly two hours—no technical issues at all. Everything ran smoothly. My lap times were solid too—mid 1:25s. So frustrating with the tech—I had such a good feeling for us.”

So after lows and more lows, P30 on start became P28 with 87 laps down at the end. Okay, this isn’t a success story. But it’s a testament to deep passion: both drivers kept going without coordination and without any hope of results. Their racer hearts simply wouldn’t allow anything else.

Race report

CDS Porsche Team red fights for a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Spa

Spa-Francorchamps, July 12, 2025 – Race report

A turbulent and ultimately triumphant weekend lies behind the “CDS Porsche Team red”. With drivers Jan Walter, Andre Brechmann, Björn Butze and Ingo Snel, the team competed in the prestigious 24 Hours of Spa – with a dramatic start and a strong comeback.

The starting signal was given at 14:45, with Jan Walter at the wheel. But the dream of a clean start was quickly interrupted: A serious accident right in the opening minutes threw the team far behind and forced a difficult decision – a restart in the evening.

At 18:45, the second starting signal was given for the team – Jan Walter took the wheel again, this time from position 50. But the drivers showed fighting spirit: stint after stint, the team continuously worked its way forward. After solid efforts from Jan Walter and a strong switch to Andre Brechmann, Björn Butze and Ingo Snel also showed consistently strong performances.

Thanks to disciplined teamwork, a flawless strategy and constant speed, the team managed an impressive race to catch up. At the end of the 24 hours, they finished in 3rd place – a well-deserved podium finish that was duly celebrated.

A strong result for the CDS Porsche Team red – and impressive proof that team spirit, perseverance and the will to fight can triumph over setbacks.