Jessica Bäckman from North of Sweden announces today that she will begin the 2023 season by entering the GT Winter Series at the Navarra track in Spain. It will be both a new car and a new team for Jessica as she will drive an Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4 car together with the PROsport Racing Team.
- I'm looking forward to try something completely new for me, an Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4 car this weekend, I got to test the car model when I was invited to a shootout in US at the end of last year and I immediately felt that it was a car I want to get more seat time in. It will be a big challenge that I look forward to, Jessica Bäckman says.
The GT Winter Series enters its third season, stronger than ever and with more race weekends on the most beautiful racetracks in southern Europe. From December to March, with races in Spain and Portugal, where each race weekend consists of two sprint races of 25 minutes each and a long race of 60 minutes with a driver change after half the race. The drivers compete for points in their classification class and victory in the overall standings. The cars are built according to the global GT4 regulations, which means that they are, for example, the same cars used in the remaining GT4 championships around the world. This weekend, March 4–5th, the fifth round of the championship will be run at the Circuit de Navarra in Spain, where the young, Swedish racer Jessica Bäckman will for the first time in her career, drive an Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4 car in a competitive context for the PROsport Racing Team where she will share the car with the Czech, Gabriela Jílková.
PROsport Racing Team
PROsport Racing Team is one of the most respected GT teams currently competing in Europe. Officially founded by Christoph Esser who himself has competed in the 1980s. The team is located next to the Nürburgring, just 5 km from the Nürburgring track and has strong qualifications such as; more than 50 class wins in VLN, another 10 wins in the 24H SERIES and several strong results in both ADAC TCR Germany, ADAC GT4 Germany and GT4 European Championship.
New car, new championship, and new team
Jessica Bäckman made her motorsport debut in 2006 in karting as an 8-year-old and has since competed around the world. In 2018, Jessica debuted in car racing and over the years has 4 wins and 14 podium places in five different TCR championships around the world and has also got a chance to represent Sweden in the Motorsports Olympics - FIA Motorsport Games. In 2021, she took the step up in the World Cup series FIA World Touring Car Cup where she is the only woman to score world cup points in the series. Last year she was crowned Vice Champion in the ADAC TCR Germany championship and is ranked as the most successful female driver in the championship's history. Now the Sweden National Team driver from the North of Sweden will enter the GT Winter Series for the first time in an Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4 car for the top team PROsport Racing Team.
- I'm looking forward to try something completely new for me, an Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4 car this weekend, I got to test the car model when I was invited to a shootout in US at the end of last year and I immediately felt that it was a car I want to get more seat time in. It will be a big challenge that I look forward to, Jessica Bäckman says.
– I am very happy that Jessica will make her debut for us in Navarra. Last year we watched her through her wins and podiums in the ADAC TCR Germany and I think she is a great talent. Now we are delighted that she will be making her debut in GT racing with PROsport Racing, says Christoph Esser, team manager for PROsport Racing Team.
Facts Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT4:
- Rear wheel drive
- 4.0 ltr twin turbo V8 engine
- 475 hp
- 6-speed paddle shift gearbox
- ABS-system
- Traction Control
Timetable for this weekend (GT Winter Series round 5):
(all times in CET)
Saturday, March 4th:
10:10 Free Practice 1 (40 min)
12:45 Free Practice 2 (40 min)
15:20 Free Practice 3 (40 min)
16:50 Free Practice 4 (40 min)
Sunday, March 5th:
09:40 Q1 – Qualifying 1 (15 min)
10:00 Q2 - Qualifying 2 (15 min)
12:10 Sprint Race 1 (25 min)
14:25 Sprint Race 2 (25 min)
16:45 Endurance Race (60 min) – Driver change after 30 minutes
Click to see livetiming
Click to see results
GT Winter Series Calendar 2022/2023:
12-13 December - Portimao, Portugal
14-15 January - Estoril, Portugal
11-12 February - Jerez, Spain
18-19 February - Valencia, Spain
4-5 March - Navarra, Spain
11-12 March - Barcelona, Spain