PROsport Racing will be competing in the GT4 European Series with two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s and strong drivers.
PROsport Racing will return to the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club in the 2024 season after the racing team from Wiesemscheid only made one guest start in the top-class SRO racing series last year. Team Principal Chris Esser’s team will compete with two Aston Martin Vantage GT4s. The team recently completed extensive testing at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in preparation for the start of the season at the French circuit.
Hugo Sasse and Raphael Rennhofer as well as Hendrik Still and Fabio Rauer will drive the two Aston Martin cars in the racing series. This means that a talented young driver will compete in both cars with an experienced and fast GT4 driver. “Actually, the logical consequence would be to put Hugo and Hendrik in the same car and fight for the title again,” explains PROsport Racing team boss Chris Esser. “But after winning the title in 2022 and 2023, this doesn’t make sense for us. We find it much more appealing to combine the two with young talents and then go on the hunt for the title!”
Hugo Sasse has been racing for PROsport Racing since fall 2021. He won the ADAC GT4 Germany title with the team in 2022 and 2023. “I’m delighted to be entering my third full season with PROsport Racing. In recent years, the team has become like a second family to me and I am therefore delighted that we can continue our collaboration. I also find it very appealing that I will be competing together with the talented young driver Raphael, whom I already know from last year, and that I can pass on my knowledge and experience.”
Austrian Raphael Rennhofer made his debut in one of the team’s Aston Martins last year and has already impressed with strong performances. “I’m looking forward to starting my first full season in GT racing with PROsport Racing together with Hugo Sasse in 2024! A strong field of drivers awaits us in the GT4 European Series, but with my experience from last season, Hugo as a team-mate and the support from PROsport, I am convinced that we can regularly fight for podiums and victories,” said the 17-year-old.
For Hendrik Still, this will be his return to PROsport Racing after having mainly driven Porsche cars in recent years. Still has already raced sporadically with the team in the past. “I have known Chris and his team for many years and have been able to be part of the team sporadically for various races. We have also completed many trackdays, coaching sessions and test drives together over the last ten years. Now I am very proud to be part of the two-time champion team from the ADAC GT4 Germany and to be able to contest a complete championship in PROsport team colors for the first time. The opportunity and the incentive to switch to PROsport and the chance to compete for the title with the shared know-how was great and I’m really looking forward to the new challenge. I am also looking forward to the task of growing together with a talented young driver and fighting for podium places. My thanks go to Chris for this opportunity and the trust he has placed in my work on and off the track.”
Fabio Rauer, who also gained his first experience in GT4 racing last year and impressed the team during test drives, will line up alongside GT4 rookie Still. “I feel very comfortable in the team and the Aston Martin GT4 is a strong car,” said the 17-year-old Rauer. “The first days of testing in Le Castellet went well and we have prepared perfectly for the first race weekend. We have a strong package and I’m looking forward to the season together with Hendrik to fight at the front.”
The racing team has already achieved many successes in the GT4 European Series. In 2013, Jörg Viebahn and future Mercedes-AMG works driver Adam Christodoulou won the Am classification in the racing series for the team. In 2016, Viebahn won the Pro classification with former DTM driver Peter Terting, and the team also triumphed in the team classification of the SRO racing series with the self-developed Porsche Cayman Pro4.
It remains to be seen whether the team will line up again in the ADAC GT4 Germany or whether PROsport Racing will focus on the GT4 European Series.Although the team from Wiesemscheid has entered two cars for the ADAC GT4 Germany, it does not yet have the right driver pairings for a renewed assault on the title in the German GT4 championship.
Provisional race calendar GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club:
- 05.04. – 07.04. – Circuit Paul Ricard (FR)
- 17.05. – 19.05. – Misano (IT)
- 28.06. – 30.06. – Spa-Francorchamps (BE)
- 19.07. – 21.07. – Hockenheimring
- 20/09 – 22/09 – Monza (IT)
- 21/11 – 23/11 – Jeddah (SA)
