Christina Nielsen completed the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park weekend with a podium finish and respectable consistency in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. The young woman from Aarhus, Denmark, steered clear of on-track incidents Friday, July 12 to take third in Round 9, the first of two 45-minute sprint sessions for the series.
Nielsen, who qualified fifth, fought off competitors through the race and capitalized on the incident that took place between two competitors ahead of her. Once in the third position, she made her charge to the front, turning consistently quick laps. But with the clock running out, she was unable to gain position.
“It’s nice to be at the top and to show that we are competitive,” Nielsen said of the first race. “We struggled a little bit in the race. But we didn’t make any major mistakes during the race, and that is why we ended where we were. Basically, it’s nice to see that we are getting pretty close to having all of the boys behind us.”
Keeping her consistency in Round 10 on Saturday, July 13, Nielsen ran a clean race with ease. Nielsen focused on putting her previous experience here in a Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada race in May to good use, finishing just off the podium in fifth.
“It is very normal that drivers go faster when they have been away from a track and come back,” Nielsen said. “So it was great to keep that rhythm and show people that we are a part of the top. Our lap times were very consistent, and we showed a good speed.”
Looking ahead, Nielsen will pull double-duty for the remainder of the race season with European Le Mans Series team IMSA Performance. The team has no ties to the International Motor Sports Association, which sanctions the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.
Nielsen will join Nicolas Armindo, her former teammate for the 2013 Petit Le Mans with NGT Motorsport. She replaces driver David Halliday for the final three races of the season in the Matmut Porsche RSR.
“Very excited to be back in Europe to race since it will be my first race this year in Europe,” Nielsen said. “It will be my first time in the RSR, so there will be a lot to catch up on, but I am looking forward to it.”
Nielsen’s next Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama race will be Aug. 9-10 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Her first race with the European Le Mans Series is July 19-20 at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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