Big plans for PROsport Racing in 2023
Wednesday, March 01, 2023
PROsport Racing will be active with up to five cars in the endurance races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 2023. In addition to the well-known Aston Martin, the team will also field a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Endurance ace Alex Bundle will also start for the team. In 2023, the Nürburgring Endurance Series and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring will continue to occupy an important place in PROsport Racing's season planning. The team from Wiesemscheid is expanding its line-up in the racing series and will be active with up to five cars in the popular racing series on the world-famous Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Reigning ADAC GT4 Germany champion Mike David Ortmann will pilot an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 together with Christoph Breuer up to and including the 24-hour race in May. After a few rounds, Hugo Sasse, who won the GT4 series title together with Ortmann, will also join the driver line-up. "Originally, Hugo Sasse was also to contest all the races with the GT3. However, we decided within the team and with Hugo and his family that he would first drive a few more races in one of our GT4 cars," explains team boss Chris Esser. "Hugo has only driven three races so far on the Nordschleife in a near-series Porsche Cayman, so a direct move up to the GT3 car would be out of his league. We want him to get used to the pace and the special features of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife first." Alex Brundle, the son of former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle, will be the fourth driver to start for the team. The 32-year-old Briton has made a name for himself in prototype racing in particular and has already scored race wins in the FIA WEC, as well as winning the championship title in the ELMS LMP3 class in 2016. Brundle has also been able to gain racing experience on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, earning his permit with PROsport Racing, which means he already knows the team from Wiesemscheid. "After winning the SP8T class in 2019, it was always my goal to return to the Green Hell and attack the overall victory in the top class," said the 32-year-old Briton. "It's real old-school motorsport and I'm really excited to be returning to the Nürburgring with PROsport Racing. It's a tough race so you need a team in the pit lane that you can trust to bring a reliable, safe and fast race car to the track. The PROsport team is such a team. It's a nice cycle because I drove my first lap on the Nordschleife in one of the team's cars. I'm also proud to be back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, as I was in 2019, and to enjoy the technical support from Prodrive to make the most of our efforts. I can't wait to race at the Nordschleife again!" Last year, the dark green #17 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 quickly drove its way into the hearts of fans around the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. In 2023, the car will again contest the entire season in the Nürburgring Endurance Series. The British sports coupé will compete in the SP9 Am class. The two Belgians Maxime Dumarey and Jean Glorieux - who already drove the Aston Martin on the Nordschleife in 2022 - will drive the car for the entire season. Team boss Chris Esser's team is fielding two more Aston Martin cars in the GT4 class SP10. One car will be driven by gentleman drivers. Guido Dumarey will drive the Vantage GT4 for the entire season. The Ukrainian Yevgen Sokolovskiy, who lives in Düsseldorf, will also take the wheel of the car up to and including the 24-hour race. Other drivers from the PROsport Racing gentlemen's squad complete the Aston Martin line-up. With the second GT4 Vantage, PROsport Racing will attack the top positions in the SP10 category. The British sports car will compete on the Nordschleife up to and including the 24h race in May. Belgian Guillaume Dumarey will take his place at the wheel of the car. In addition, ADAC GT4 Germany champion Hugo Sasse will contest the first rounds of the season on the car before making the move up to the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The racing team will announce the team's other drivers at a later date. In addition, PROsport Racing will compete for the first time in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring in 2023, which is contested in the Nürburgring Endurance Series. In the Cup 2 class, the team will field one of the popular 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. The vehicle will contest large parts of the season. Alongside Belgian Simon Balcaen, veteran Jörg Viebahn will take his place at the wheel of the car. Jörg Viebahn, who comes from Gummersbach, and PROsport Racing have a long history together. In 2013, Viebahn won the title in the Am class of the GT4 European Series for the team from Wiesemscheidt, before winning the overall standings in the series himself in 2016 with the self-developed Porsche Cayman Pro4 and former DTM driver Peter Terting and ensuring that he won the team title. The veteran was also able to score further race victories in the top-class SRO Championship with PROsport Racing. The 58-year-old has also scored successes for the experienced team in endurance races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Source material - PROsport Racing |
