diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-rel-tests-gcp-europe-west4/main.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-rel-tests-gcp-europe-west4/main.tf
index bf28c396..c280ac1b 100644
--- a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-rel-tests-gcp-europe-west4/main.tf
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-rel-tests-gcp-europe-west4/main.tf
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ module "gke" {
   project                    = var.project
   region                     = var.region
   zone                       = var.zone
-  kubernetes_release_channel = "STABLE"
   node_pool_name             = "runners-ci-e2-standard-2"
   node_pool_machine_type     = "e2-standard-2"
   node_pool_min              = 1
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/main.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/main.tf
index e42c8040..ba63ed0d 100644
--- a/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/main.tf
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/main.tf
@@ -7,18 +7,9 @@ resource "google_container_cluster" "this" {
 
   deletion_protection = false
 
-  release_channel {
-    channel = var.kubernetes_release_channel
-  }
-
-  # Enable Workload Identity
-  workload_identity_config {
-    workload_pool = "${var.project}.svc.id.goog"
-  }
-
   # Send pod stdout/stderr to Cloud Logging automatically
   logging_service    = "logging.googleapis.com/kubernetes"
-  monitoring_service = "monitoring.googleapis.com/kubernetes"
+  monitoring_service = "none"
 
   node_pool {
     name               = var.node_pool_name
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/variables.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/variables.tf
index 094b17fd..caf78c7f 100644
--- a/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/variables.tf
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/gke/variables.tf
@@ -19,13 +19,6 @@ variable "zone" {
   description = "The GCP zone for the cluster. Using a single zone avoids the longer provisioning time of a regional (multi-zone) cluster."
 }
 
-# Kubernetes Control Plane
-variable "kubernetes_release_channel" {
-  type        = string
-  description = "The GKE release channel: RAPID, REGULAR, or STABLE."
-  default     = "STABLE"
-}
-
 # Kubernetes default Node Pool
 variable "node_pool_name" {
   type        = string
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 1a75992a..1342e269 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ jobs:
       TF_VAR_project: ${{ vars.RELEASE_TESTS_GCP_PROJECT }}
       TF_VAR_region: europe-west4
       TF_VAR_zone: europe-west4-b
-      TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR: ~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
+      TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR: /home/runner/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
       STORAGEDOCKERIMAGE: ${{ github.ref_type == 'tag' && format('logosstorage/logos-storage-nim:{0}-dist-tests', github.ref_name) || 'logosstorage/logos-storage-nim:latest-dist-tests' }}
       TEST_TYPE: release-tests
       BRANCH: ${{ inputs.branch || 'master' }}
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Create Terraform plugin cache dir
-        run: mkdir -p ~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
+        run: mkdir -p /home/runner/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
 
       - name: Cache Terraform plugins
         uses: actions/cache@v4