The teams and drivers in the Prototype Cup Germany have been preparing for the opening race weekend of 2025 at Spa-Francorchamps with a day of testing. The fastest pair on a rainy day in the Belgian Ardennes was that of Oscar Tunjo (29/COL) and Mikkel C. Johansen (37/DEN, both Gebhardt Motorsport), followed by Riccardo Leone Cirelli (17/ITA) and Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (18/DEN, both BWT Mücke Motorsport), and Maxim Dirickx (20/BEL) and Sven Barth (44/Eberbach, both Aust Motorsport). The serious business gets underway on Friday when two free practice sessions are followed by the first qualifying of the new season.
Mikkel C. Johansen was pleased with the fastest lap time of the day, set by his team-mate Oscar Tunjo. “Unlike me, he has an awful lot of experience with the LMP3 cars and can already point to some success. These cars are still relatively new to me, and I can obviously learn a lot from someone like Oscar. I am really very happy to have him as a team-mate.” The Dane enjoyed the test. “It was a good and valuable experience. In particular, the many high-speed sections at Spa-Francorchamps were new to me, and it was also my first time driving an LMP3 in the rain.” Third on the timings sheet, behind the Gebhardt duo and Cirelli / Jakobsen, was the returning Aust Motorsport. Frank Aust’s team is back in the Prototype Cup Germany after a year away lines up with the only Belgian in the field: Maxim Dirickx. “It was very nice to have the first comparison with our rivals. I feel right at home in the Ligier and am happy to be sharing my car with Sven Barth again,” says Dirickx, satisfied with the test day ahead of his home event.
Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst), who forms a duo with Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL, both BWT Mücke Motorsport) and switched from GT4 to LMP3 within the Mücke team over the winter, was another in a positive frame of mind. “The test ran smoothly and without any issues for us. A lot is new to me this season, but I have brought my engineer with me from ADAC GT4 Germany. Hearing a familiar voice definitely helps you when you’re adapting to a new racing series and a new car.” He was happy with his own performance, but stressed that it is difficult to make any comparisons at this stage. “You never know what the others have been testing, how old the tyres were, or how much fuel they had on board. Plus, the weather conditions were not the same all day. I definitely feel well prepared for the first qualifying and first race of the year, and am already really looking forward to it.” Rounding out the top six were Danny Soufi (21/USA, Konrad Motorsport), and Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE) and Michael Herich (47/Brühl, both Gebhardt Motorsport).
The Spa-Francorchamps race weekend begins at 11:20 on Friday with the first free practice. The drivers will contest the opening qualifying session at 16:45.
