After a difficult first race in Oschersleben, PROsport Racing strikes back in the second race and celebrates victory in the Magdeburger Börde.
The 2023 season of the ADAC GT4 Germany got underway at Oschersleben. PROsport Racing, which won the title last year with Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse, fielded four Aston Martin Vantage GT4s. In addition to the title winners, Célia Martin and Fabienne Wohlwend, Jessica and Andreas Bäckman and the gentleman duo of Yevgen Sokolovskiy and Damon Surzyshyn drove the British GT4 bolides of Christoph Esser’s team.
The season got off to a rough start for the team from Wiesemscheid in the first race. Ortmann broke the tie rod on his car already on the starting lap after a contact and the reigning title winner then hit the barrier. The gentleman’s car and the green Aston Martin of the Swedish sibling pair also retired in the first race of the season. Only Célia Martin and Fabienne Wohlwend could collect important kilometers and thus experience on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, the team of mechanics then put in a strong performance, as the chassis of Sokolovskiy and Surzyshyn’s car had to be replaced after persistent technical problems. One of the cars that had competed in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring the previous week served as the replacement vehicle.
Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse showed their qualities on Sunday and fought their way from third on the grid to victory at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. For the two drivers and the team, this is revenge for the bitter retirement on Saturday. Sokolovskiy and his Canadian partner finished the round in fifth position in the Trophy standings, while Célia Martin and Fabienne Wohlwend were once again able to collect important kilometers – for the two young women, Oschersleben was all about gaining experience and getting to grips with the ADAC GT4 Germany, which is new territory for both of them. Jessica and Andreas Bäckman had to abandon the race again with technical problems.
“Anyone who knows me and PROsport Racing knows that giving up is not an option for me!” emphasized team boss Chris Esser after the race weekend in Oschersleben. “After the difficult Saturday, our team gave everything and celebrated a strong comeback on Sunday. It was important for the two girls and our gentleman drivers to gain experience and kilometers, which they did. I feel sorry for our Swedish siblings with their two retirements, unfortunately we couldn’t fix the problem at the track. ADAC GT4 Germany has become even tougher and more professional over the winter, so it’s an extremely competitive environment.”
The next ADAC GT4 Germany race weekend will be held at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on the last weekend of June.
