With a win and a second place, Hugo Sasse and Mike David Ortmann have taken the lead of the standings in the ADAC GT4 Germany. All the team’s drivers put in a strong performance.
PROsport Racing’s home race in the ADAC GT4 Germany at the Nürburgring was successful for the Aston Martin squad. All four cars of Christoph Esser’s squad showed strong performances in difficult weather conditions in the Eifel.
The race weekend was particularly successful for reigning champions Hugo Sasse and Mike David Ortmann. Sasse put the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 on pole position for the first race on Saturday. In a chaotic race with changeable weather conditions and a race interruption after a serious accident, the team decided on the right strategy. In the end, the duo had to admit defeat to one competitor and finished the race in second position.
On Sunday, the driver duo drove to victory from second place on the grid in heavy rain. For Sasse and Ortmann, it is the second win of the season after they already triumphed at the season opener in Oschersleben on Sunday. In the race, Sasse secured the lead with a spectacular overtaking maneuver after the driver change and was ultimately able to pull away from the field. With the triumph, the two drivers took the lead of the standings for the first time in 2023 and could call themselves mid-season champions in the ADAC GT4 Germany.
The two debutants Leon Erger and Raphael Rennhofer caused some surprise. The two youngsters finished both practice sessions on Friday in second position. After a strong qualifying on Saturday, Rennhofer took up Saturday’s race from third position. After a strong opening phase for the young Austrian, he and his partner Leon Erger lost a few positions with bad luck during a safety car phase. In the end, the #19 Vantage GT4 finished the race in seventh position – a strong debut in the highly competitive GT4 racing series! Things were to get more difficult for the two rookies in the heavy rain on Sunday. After a spin and two collisions, the duo finished the race in 18th place.
Saturday was also successful for Yevgen Sokolovskiy and his Canadian partner Damon Surzyshyn. With tenth place, the two gentleman drivers clinched their best result in the ADAC GT4 Germany. They also celebrated their first class win in the Trophy classification. On Sunday, they also climbed the podium in third place in the Trophy classification.
Célia Martin and Fabienne Wohlwend also showed good speed in the Eifel, but had to contend with bad luck. On Saturday, the two fast ladies were also on track for a top 10 result before Wohlwend from Liechtenstein suffered a puncture and had to head for the pit lane again. In the end, Martin and Wohlwend were classified in 22nd position. On Sunday, Adenau-based Frenchwoman Célia Martin had to park the car a few laps before the end of the race after a collision. In qualifying on Sunday morning, Fabienne Wohlwend had previously driven to a strong 13th place on the grid.
“I’m extremely pleased with our team performance at the Nürburgring,” said Christoph Esser. “With their victory and second place, Mike and Hugo have taken the lead in the standings. Our goal for the second half of the season is clear: to defend the title! Leon and Raphael had a strong debut in GT4 racing that probably nobody expected. The two of them have more than confirmed our decision – I’m looking forward to the further races with them. For Yevgen and Damon, I’m very happy for their first class win in the Trophy classification. In the chaos on Saturday they didn’t make any mistakes and drove home the victory without any mistakes. Our two girls also put in a strong performance – on Saturday, all four of our cars could have finished in the top 10, which would have been an incredible result for the whole team. Unfortunately they were unlucky in both races, but I’m sure the two of them will be driving home good results shortly too, their improvement was clear to see this weekend!”
The fourth race weekend of the ADAC GT4 Germany takes place in just two weeks. Then the race series will make its first guest appearance since 2020 at the DEKRA Lausitzring in Brandenburg. For championship leader Mike David Ortmann, the race will be his home race, and the reigning title winner will be accordingly motivated going into the event.
