Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse will be replacing Yevgen Sokolovskiy in the No. 48 Marko Stipp Motorsport Chevrolet for the season finale race at Rijeka this week.
On 24 October, Marko Stipp Motorsport announced that the recently crowned ADAC GT4 Germany champions Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse are set to make their NASCAR Whelen Euro Series debut on this weekend’s season finale at Automotodrom Grobnik.
Ortmann and Sasse will drive the No. 48 Gulf/Stop War Chevrolet as the replacement drivers for Yevgen Sokolovskiy, who will be absent from Rijeka due to a schedule clash with the FIA Motorsport Games at Circuit Paul Ricard.
“Marko Stipp Motorsport is happy to present their lineup for the #48 Chevrolet Camaro at the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series finals in Croatia,” said MSM in the official announcement.
“With Yevgen Sokolovskiy representing his home country Ukraine at the FIA Motorsport Games, the two German GT drivers Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse will make their first steps in NASCAR racing. Ortmann will compete in EuroNASCAR PRO while Sasse will take the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet in EuroNASCAR 2.”
Ortmann and Sasse are part of the PROsport Racing team on their championship-winning ADAC GT4 campaign and is the stablemate for Sokolovskiy, who also raced with PROsport in ADAC GT4 this year. Both Ortmann and Sasse credited Sokolovskiy for giving them a chance to compete in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as his replacement drivers.
I’m a huge fan of US NASCAR racing and I have been watching all the races,” said Ortmann on his upcoming EuroNASCAR debut. “I’m really happy to compete for Marko Stipp Motorsport in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. I have no specific expectations but I want to have fun and score the best possible result.”
“I have huge respect for the car and the grid. The tension is high and I’m looking forward to wrestling a EuroNASCAR car around the track. It will be for sure a delight! Yevgen and I became friends in GT4 and I took the opportunity as driving a NASCAR car was always one of the biggest dreams in my life.”
“I want to gather experience in the racing series and therefore I focus on having fun instead of hunting results,” said Sasse. “Just like David, I have a lot of respect for the car and the drivers in the series. The racing is something completely different than in GT4. I’m really looking forward to the intense battles with the other competitors.”
“Yevgen talked a lot about the series and we got interested. He made it happen that we can make our debut in EuroNASCAR and he already gave us some advice about the handling of the car that will be crucial in the races.”
Disclaimer: Unless noted on the photo, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard / Bart Dehaese.