“I am proud of the programme we will be running in the 2023 ADAC GT4 Germany season,” said PROsport Racing team principal Chris Esser with a smile. The team from Wiesemscheid, which was able to win the drivers’ championship in 2022 with Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse – Sasse also won the junior championship, will field no less than five Aston Martin Vantage GT4s in the ADAC’s challenging GT4 championship.
In 2022, Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse won four ADAC GT4 Germany races at the wheel of their Vantage, crowning themselves champions at the grand season finale in Hockenheim. They will also compete as a duo in the series in 2023 and have a clear objective before the start of the season in the #1 Vantage: as the first drivers in the history of the ADAC GT4 Germany, the two drivers, who have also become good friends in the meantime, want to defend their title in the racing series.
“I am very happy that I will be competing with Hugo in the ADAC GT4 Germany again this year. Our goal is to repeat our title win this year. However, we are aware that this will not be an easy task and that we will have many opponents in the title fight,” says Mike David Ortmann.
An exciting driver duo will also pilot the #19 Vantage GT4. Jessica and Andreas Bäckman are joining ADAC GT4 Germany from TCR racing and will share a car. Since 2018, the two Swedish siblings have been able to gain a lot of experience in European TCR racing. Jessica was runner-up in the ADAC TCR Germany in 2022, winning four rounds in the process.
“To compete together with my brother Andreas for PROsport Racing in the ADAC GT4 Germany is something special for me,” said Jessica Bäckman. “I will be competing in GT racing for the first time this year. I got on well with the Vantage GT4 straight away during my test event in the GT Winter Series in Navarra, so I’m starting the season with confidence.”
Taking turns in the cockpit of the #13 Vantage will be an all-women duo. Czech Gabriela Jílková and Adenau-based French Célia Martin will be driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 fielded by the team from Wiesemscheid. While Jílková has been competing in the racing series since 2021 and has been able to thrill many fans with her driving style, Martin will be making her debut in the ADAC GT4 Germany. During test drives in autumn 2022, both drove almost exactly the same fast lap times.
Gabriela Jílková is ready for her third season in the ADAC GT4 Germany: “I am very happy that I will be competing with Célia in the ADAC GT4 Germany. I already know the series from the last two years and now to compete with an all-female duo is something special. I was able to prepare well during the intensive testing in Spain over the winter and I’m going into the new ADAC GT4 Germany season with a good feeling.”
PROsport Racing will announce the driver duos of the two other Aston Martin cars at a later date.
“Competing with five cars in the ADAC GT4 Germany will be a big challenge for us, but I am sure we will manage it well. Due to the expanded programme, we are concentrating on ADAC GT4 Germany this year and will not be competing in the GT4 European Series,” team boss Esser concluded. “We are starting with a promising driver line-up. As reigning champions, our objective is clear, we want to defend our title win! I’m going into the 2023 ADAC GT4 Germany with a positive feeling!”
Terminkalender Nürburgring-Nordschleife 2023:
18.03. – NLS1: 68. ADAC Westfalenfahrt
01.04. – NLS2: NIMEX 47. DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen
15.04. – NLS3: 54. Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy
22.04. – 23.04. – ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers
18.05. – 21.05. – ADAC TotalEnergies 24h Nürburgring
17.06. – NLS4: 46. RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen
08.07. – NLS5: ROWE 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen
09.09. – NLS6: 63. ADAC ACAS Cup
10.09. – NLS7: 62. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen
23.09. – NLS8: 55. ADAC Barbarossapreis
07.10. – NLS9: 47. DMV Münsterlandpokal
