Having impressed in her debut weekend in GT4 machinery, Jessica Bäckman is set to make her full-time switch to GT racing, as she will share a PROsport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with her brother Andreas.
A few days after her GT4 racing debut in the penultimate round of the GT Winter Series at Navarra, Spain, Jessica Bäckman announces a full-time switch to GT racing, as she is set to join PROsport Racing in ADAC GT4 Germany. Bäckman will share the wheel of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 with her brother Andreas. After her debut in race cars, Jessica specialized in touring cars and was a rising star of the TCR platform, climbing the ranks up until the World Touring Car Cup. In 2018, the Bäckman siblings raced in TCR UK and STCC, before moving to TCR Europe in 2019. Jessica claimed podiums in all three series, becoming the first woman to step on the rostrum in the continental championship.
In 2021, Jessica made more history by becoming the first – and only – woman to have scored points in the FIA World Touring Car Cup, at her series debut at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. For the first time, Jessica and Andreas competed in separated series in 2022, with Andreas returning to Sweden for the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. At the same time, Jessica headed to Germany, where she battled for the title claiming four wins, nine podiums, two pole positions and three fastest laps. She eventually was crowned Vice-Champion. In five years, Jessica scored podiums in four different TCR series. Towards the end of 2022, Bäckman drove a GT4 car for the first time, when she was selected as a finalist to the Heart of Racing's shootout in Arizona. Following the test, the young Swede was left with interest to collect more experience in GT racing and joined PROsport Racing in a one-off appearance at Navarra, Spain, for the latest round of the GT Winter Series. At Navarra, Bäckman teamed up with Gabriela Jílková – who will partner Célia Martin at the same team in ADAC GT4 – and the duo had a highly positive weekend, scoring two second place finishes in their respective sprint races and a further second place in the 60-minute endurance race. The GT Winter Series made Jessica hungry for more – and the young Swede now announces she will make a full-time switch to GT4, entering the ADAC GT4 Germany series with PROsport Racing, the 2022 driver championship-winning team. For the first time, she will share the car with her brother, in a format that features driver change pit stops. "Very happy to have this opportunity to compete for the PROsport Racing Team who are reigning champions in ADAC GT4 Germany", Jessica said. "Being able to take the step to GT4 feels exciting and it will be a fun season to be able to share a car with my brother." With ADAC and DTM joining forces in 2023, the ADAC GT4 Germany will support DTM and ADAC GT Masters, two of the most popular GT3 series in Germany and Europe, for a six event calendar – five rounds in Germany and one in the Netherlands. The races are 60-minute long, with mandatory driver change – which will be a first for the Bäckmans. "It will be awesome to compete on the same weekends as the DTM and ADAC GT Masters," Jessica continued. "It will be fun to try something completely different for this season by competing in GT4, and it feels exciting to be able to share a car with Jessica", Andreas added. "We will have a lot to learn during this season, but we still aim high and want to be able to challenge at the top". With grids often close to 40 entries, ADAC GT4 Germany is widely considered as the most competitive national GT4 series in the world. The season is set to kick-off at Oschersleben on May 26-28th.