A day to forget for Prosport Performance at ADAC GT4 Germany opener

For the German based team PROsport Performance, today must figure as one of their most difficult in all the years that they have been racing with a four car entries in to two series giving absolutely nothing back despite early promises.

Earlier today the teams two Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4's qualified for the first race of the opening round of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series at Oschersleben with the team's Florian Thoma claiming pole in teams #18 car. Its sister #19 car by Joerg Viebahn would start Saturdays one hour race from P5 so all looked promising but then came the start of the race!


At the start both cars soon found themselves being overtaken into the first corner - each dropping at least two places to their starting position. In his haste to recover their situation in what was his first race with the team, the #19 car of Viebahn was seen to connect with the rear of at least two other cars going into corners on the same (second) lap and that earned him a black and white driving standards flag from Race Control.

Just moments later the #18 car of Thoma is seen entering the chiccane on the far side of the circuit to the pits - hitting the right hander kerb hard before trying to turn left only for the car only to snap away from him and pirouette heavily into the tyre wall opposite. With significant front end damage to the car that was their race already done and that was only seven minutes into a one hour race. The partially removed rear off side tyre seemed to give clues as to the cause.


With the car stranded on the outside of what is a fast corner, a Safety Car was quickly called to control the field as medical crews were dispatched to chack upon a clearly shaken and bruised Thoma and for the remnants of his #18 car to be recovered.

That Safety Car period lasted for just over ten minutes during which the #19 was holding P7 despite his early brush with the race officials. Then the worst imaginable happened to the team.

On the first lap of the restart and with still over 41 minutes remaining, the #19 was seen to place its outer wheels off the track surface before attempting to make the next left hand corner - the result was seeing the car loose adhesion at the rear and spin off into the gravel trap where another Safety Car period would be required to recover the car.


Both cars out in under twenty minutes of racing is something no team wants to see. The team have already had a busy schedule of testing and racing up to today - GT4 European Series at Monza and two 24h Series races at Mugello and Spa. Fixing the #18 car will keep them busy overnight but at least tomorrow is another day and it can't exactly get any worse.

The only way is up tomorrow for Prosport Performance in ADAC GT4 Germany!

Photo credits - ADAC GT4