Michael Schrey and Gabriele Piana are the champions of the ADAC GT4 Germany 2021 07.11.2021: - Duo from Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport secure their first ADAC GT4 Germany drivers' championship title at the Nürburgring - Schrey/Piana won five of twelve races in 2021 - 2022 they want to defend the title

- Duo from Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport secure their first ADAC GT4 Germany drivers' championship title at the Nürburgring

- Schrey/Piana won five of twelve races in 2021

- 2022 they want to defend the title

 Michael Schrey (38/Wallenhorst) and Gabriele Piana (35/ITA) are the new champions of the ADAC GT4 Germany. The experienced pairing from Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport took the title by a margin of eleven points after finishing 20th in Sunday's race at the Nürburgring. For the first time, a pairing of drivers in the BMW M4 GT4 is racing to the title in the ADAC GT4 Germany.


"The two guys complement each other incredibly well. I've never seen anything like this before. Gabriele has emotions in all directions but gets his performance spot on. Michael sometimes grumbles when it's not needed - but also always delivers his performance. So I have the perfect driver pairing for our team," cheered team boss Michael Bonk about the title and his successful champion duo.



"Michael Schrey and I have reached a certain age by now. We don't drive with ego, but always think of the other person," Piana explained the key factor on the way to the title. "The races in the ADAC GT4 Germany always last an hour. There's no point in overdriving the car in your own stint - just to be able to shine for a short time. We always drive in such a way that the team mate still has a great car at his disposal towards the end of the race. Because points are only awarded when the chequered flag falls."



Schrey and Piana have made their mark on the ADAC GT4 Germany right from the start. Both are among only three drivers who have completed all the races held so far in the series' history. While they competed for different teams in the inaugural year 2019, they have formed a driver duo since the 2020 season. In their first year together, they were already able to celebrate the vice-championship. In 2021, they took the next step by winning the title. "I can't believe it yet," Schrey said jubilantly.


"Especially after it had been so close last year, many in the paddock begrudged us this title. Gabriele is an absolutely fast racer and also drives with brains. We simply work perfectly as a team and trust each other completely. Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport also put in another incredible performance in 2021. It was precisely these factors that tipped the scales in favour of us now becoming champions. Now we are just happy."



The champion duo have already made an impressive start to the 2021 season. Both the season opener at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and the second race weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria saw a one-two finish. Schrey/Piana thus made their championship ambitions unmistakably clear.

"The four victories at the start of the season were of course the optimal basis for the title. One hundred points after four races, that was the absolute highlight and simply outstanding. With the lead, we didn't have to take full risks in the races after that," Schrey explained. With seventh and second places at the CM.com Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, the championship lead was defended in a commanding manner. Fifth place and another race win at the Sachsenring already ensured a small preliminary decision in the title race.



"From my point of view, the highlight and also the biggest surprise of the 2021 season was clearly the victory at the Sachsenring. We never expected to win there with the BMW. We went there for top-five finishes and won the Sunday race. The final lap in the cockpit was very emotional," Piana looked back on the performance in Saxony at the beginning of October.


Things didn't really go according to plan at the fifth race weekend at the Hockenheimring. At the end of the two races at the Motodrom in Baden, they only finished ninth and eleventh. "We had hoped for much better results and left quite disappointed in the end. We gave it our best shot, but we just couldn't do any better. In this respect, we had nothing to reproach ourselves for," said Schrey.


The duo then drove to the Nürburgring with a 21-point lead. In race one in the Eifel, everything already looked like an early title. But then there was the big drama when Piana passed his pit spot during the mandatory stop, then collided in the pit lane and retired early.

"I had simply switched off my head a few seconds too early. I thought the title was already in the bag. It was a rookie mistake and the low point of my career," Piana looked back. In Sunday's race, the title was then wrapped up with a targeted race tactic. Just like the title rivals, rain tyres were fitted to the BMW. Since slicks would have been the better choice, they only managed 20th place, but the title was clinched. Schrey/Piana had led the standings from the first to the last race of the season and therefore deserved to celebrate their triumph.



Michael Schrey from northern Germany grew up on the race track. He came to motorsport through his father Wolfgang, who competed with his own team in the then ADAC GT Cup in 1994, for example. At the age of 18, Schrey Junior sat in a racing cockpit for the first time.


After sprint races in the Seat Cup and the Porsche Supercup, he turned more towards endurance racing in the mid-2010s - and with success: in 2016 and 2017, Michael Schrey became champion in the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring. In 2021, he won the ADAC GT4 Germany, his first title in sprint racing. However, Michael Schrey is not a full professional.



Since 1 November, he has been the managing director of a company with around 100 employees that is active in the leisure sector in the northern district of Osnabrück. "I rate the title as the greatest success of my career. I have already proved several times in long-distance racing that I am not bad. Now to win such a high-class sprint title is the icing on the cake."



Teammate Piana also has a long and unusual motorsport CV. The Italian first sat in a kart at the age of seven and remained faithful to the sport for over ten years. After that, he took a ten-year break from motorsport. In 2014, however, Piana got really fed up with the PS-free life and moved to the Nürburgring without speaking a word of German.


"I needed a change and wanted to realise my dream of motorsport," he traded warm southern Europe for the Eifel. In 2015, Piana completed his first real car race on the Nordschleife. This was followed in 2016 by a class victory in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. In 2019, he entered the ADAC GT4 Germany and immediately won the opening race as well as the runner-up championship at the end of the season. After repeating in 2020, Piana has now crowned himself champion at the Nürburgring. It is his first title in motorsport.



"I was also satisfied with the runner-up titles before. My goal is simply to always deliver my best performance. If I manage to do that and win a title, it's even nicer. In any case, I'm also really happy for the team."



The 35-year-old has been living in Lugano/CHE for some time and now speaks perfect German. His big hobby is cycling. Even to the race track, Piana regularly takes his beloved racing bike. "I ride around 15,000 kilometres a year. So I can keep fit on two wheels to be successful on four."



How Michael Schrey and Gabriele Piana will continue in the 2022 season has not yet been finalised "Our goal is to defend the championship in the ADAC GT4 Germany with the number 1 on the car," says Schrey. "Gabriele and I want to stay together as a pairing and continue to drive for Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport with the BMW M4 GT4. Nothing is fixed in this respect yet, but talks are currently going in this direction."




ADAC GT4 Germany 2022 dates (subject to change)

22nd - 24th April 2022 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
20 - 22.05.2022 Red Bull Ring (A)
24 - 26.06.2022 Circuit Zandvoort (NL)
05 - 07.08.2022 Nürburgring (A)
23 - 25.09.2022 Sachsenring (A)
21 - 23.10.2022 Hockenheimring Baden-Wuerttemberg

- Oliver Runschke, transl. deepl   photos ADAC