Fabienne Wohlwend’s GT3 debut at the GT Winter Series finale in Barcelona ended in heartbreak after a challenging weekend of mixed weather, technical issues, and a race-ending accident in treacherous conditions.
Fabienne Wohlwend was set to make her GT3 racing debut at the GT Winter Series season finale in Barcelona, joining PROsport Racing aboard the #17 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. However, an unfortunate weekend resulted in an early retirement due to a wrong tyre choice in rainy conditions.
A highly experienced driver with a Ferrari Challenge Europe title and W Series podiums on her racing CV, Wohlwend competed in the competitive ADAC GT4 Championship in 2023, scoring points in a PROsport Racing entry. In 2024, she focused on her NLS campaign with the all-female Girls Only by WS Racing team, where she had previously secured multiple podiums at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.
The opportunity to race a GT3 car for the first time was therefore an exciting milestone. However, it soon turned into a tough weekend for the talented Liechtenstein native.
Teaming up with Adrian Rziczny—who was also making his GT3 debut—the duo had six practice sessions to familiarize themselves with the car. However, mixed and constantly changing weather conditions made for difficult testing on Thursday and Friday.
A technical issue further complicated their weekend during Saturday morning’s qualifying session. Poor track conditions and mechanical setbacks left Wohlwend and her teammate without representative lap times in qualifying on a rapidly evolving track. As a result, they would have to start from the back of the GT3 field in both sprint races.
"After two test days on Thursday and Friday, where conditions were quite variable, I was feeling optimistic heading into the race weekend", said Wohlwend. "However, during qualifying on Saturday, we encountered some technical issues, which meant I unfortunately couldn’t set a competitive lap time."
Wohlwend’s teammate, Rziczny, took the start in the first race with the #17 PROsport Aston Martin Vantage. After a wet and cold qualifying session, his lap time of 1:55.571 placed him 17th overall. However, a split-class starting format allowed him to clear the other class cars and maintain seventh place within the GT3 category. The new starting procedure, designed for dry conditions, aimed to separate GT3 vehicles from Cup cars to ensure safer race starts.
At lights out, Rziczny attempted to overtake Carrie Schreiner on the inside into the first corner but was unable to make the move stick. He continued to battle in the opening laps but found it difficult to stay within striking distance of the front-runners. The cars ahead engaged in close battles, which initially slowed their pace, but once the front-runners broke free, the overall speed increased, leaving the Aston Martin struggling to keep up.
By lap seven, Rziczny could no longer hold off the Uniq Racing Lamborghini from the Cup4 class, which eventually overtook him and pulled away. As the race progressed, the Aston Martin continued to lose time, ultimately finishing ninth overall and sixth in the GT3 class.
For race two, Fabienne Wohlwend took the wheel for the first time. However, the weather conditions on Sunday were even worse than the previous day. With a wet but drying track, race control opted against the split-class start, meaning Wohlwend lined up 25th overall, stuck in the middle of multi-class traffic. After an additional lap behind the safety car, the race got underway.
Most of the field, including Wohlwend, opted for slick tyres—a decision that soon proved disastrous. On the opening lap, as she attempted to gain positions, Wohlwend hit a wet patch at Turn 7, lost the rear of the car, and spun out into the barriers. She wasn’t the only one to struggle; other incidents involved the #9 and #5 AF Corse Ferraris, the #25 Lamborghini, and the #15 Mercedes, which crashed through a concrete wall. The severity of the accidents prompted a red flag as marshals worked to recover the vehicles and repair the track barriers.
"While trying to make up positions, I hit a wet spot, lost the rear of the car, and unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room to recover", Fabienne explained. "The damage was too significant to fix in time for the second race that evening."
"Overall, the weekend didn’t go as I had hoped, especially after making great progress in the practice sessions on Thursday and Friday. I'm feeling disappointed because I’ve worked so hard for this opportunity, and now I don’t have a solid result to show for it."
"It’ll take me a few days to process everything, but then it’ll be full steam ahead as I turn my focus to the season opener of the Nürburgring Endurance Series on March 21-22, where I’ll be driving the BMW M4 GT4 with Team Girls Only."
Wohlwend will now shift her focus to the first round of the NLS, where she will once again race with the all-female squad.
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