Poulsen Motorsport will start its first 24H SERIES event since 2016 on the second row of the grid for this weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA after a stellar run for the BMW M4 GT3 during qualifying. 

Former World Touring Car Championship contender – and team principal – Kristian Poulsen ended Q1 with a strong 1m 49.939s, consistent runs from Christoffer Nygaard and Sweden’s Alfred Nilsson thereafter in Q2 and Q3 respectively securing the #14 BMW M4 GT3 3rd on the grid behind polesitter Herberth Motorsport and front row starter, WTM Racing. So strong was the Danish team’s run, the BMW M4 GT3 was bested by just 0.032s by the WTM Racing Ferrari. 

This weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA marks the first time since the same event in 2016 that Kristian, together with brother Roland, have contested a 24H SERIES event. On that occasion, the pair were teamed with Casper Elgaard and Christoffer Nygaard in a Massive Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, which eventually retired with a dramatic gearbox failure. At this weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA, Kristian, Roland, Christoffer and Alfred are entered under the eponymous ‘Poulsen Motorsport’ banner. 

The event will also serve as a further development race for the team’s BMW M4 GT3, the second such example on the grid alongside that of reigning Overall GT Teams’ champion ST Racing.

“It’s been a while but we’re happy to be back!” Kristian explained to CREVENTIC. “The last time we were here was with Massive Motorsport in 2016 with the Aston Martin. Unfortunately the gearbox exploded and the car started burning while my brother was still in the car. So, yeah, not the best weekend for us! 

“But this weekend, we’re here with our own team, and the mechanics are all very good friends of ours for a long time now. We also here with our BMW [M4 GT3], which we bought over a year ago. And we’re impressed how easy this car is to drive. Other cars we’ve [raced] in the past, you had to work quite hard to get them to go fast. But the M4 is really easy, and BMW has made a really good car.

“We thought about what series we wanted to do, and the 24H SERIES, for PRO and AM drivers, strikes a really good balance, particularly because there is a lot of good competition.”

Asked about the team’s qualifying performance, Kristian admitted that, while a second-row grid position hinted towards strong race pace, the team’s focus across the next 24 hours remains unchanged…

“We’re very happy about that! Of course, it’s a long race, and we have to see what happens, but it’s always best to start at the front than dead-last with all the traffic. 3rd is a really good place to be for our first race back. 

“We want to finish the race. That’s our main goal, to see the chequered flag. Obviously a podium would be nice but we just have to see how it goes.”