Christina Nielsen
| Christina Nielsen | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Danish |
| Born | 10 January 1992 Hørsholm, Denmark |
| Related to | Lars-Erik Nielsen (father) |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2014 |
| Current team | Wright Motorsport |
| Car number | 58 |
| Former teams | Scuderia Corsa TRG-AMR North America NGT Motorsport |
| Starts | 25 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2016 |
| Previous series | |
| 2015 2014 2012-2014 2013 2012 2010-2011 2010 2007-2009 | Pirelli World Challenge Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Porsche GT3 Cup Middle East ADAC GT Masters Porsche Carrera Cup Germany ADAC Formel Masters Formel Ford Denmark Karting |
| Championship titles | |
| 2016-2017 | WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD |
Christina Nielsen (born 10 January 1992 in Hørsholm, Denmark) is a Danish auto racing driver who is the first female driver to win a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series title. She is the daughter of auto racing driver Lars-Erik Nielsen, who raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2000s.[1]
Racing career
Karting
Nielsen started her karting career in 2007. After karting for a couple of years, she switched to formal racing in 2010.
Formel Ford Denmark & ADAC Formel Masters
After karting from 2007 to 2009, Nielsen made her formula racing debut in 2010 in the Danish Formula Ford Championship. Finishing the season in 9th position.
After doing two one off appearances in the ADAC Formel Masters in 2010, Nielsen went on to do a full season in 2011.
GT Racing
For 2012, Nielsen switched to the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany running in the B-class. She ended the season 5th in class.
In 2013, Nielsen switched to the ADAC GT Masters. For 2014, Nielsen raced in the United SportsCar Championship for NGT Motorsport.
In 2015, Nielsen ran the entire IMSA SportsCar Championship in a GTD Aston Martin Vantage V12 under the TRG-AMR banner, partnering with Kuno Wittmer and James Davison.[2] She claimed four second-place finishes and a third, finishing runner-up two points behind Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler.
The Dane continued in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016, joining Scuderia Corsa to drive alongside Alessandro Balzan in a GTD-class Ferrari.[3] She won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Jeff Segal as third driver. With another win at 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and four additional podiums throughout the season, Nielsen and Balzan won the 2016 IMSA SportsCar series Championship, with a 299-point total for the year, and thus Nielsen became the first woman to win a major full-season professional sports car championship in North America.[4][5][6]
Racing record
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series results
| Year | Team | Make | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NGT Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT America | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | GTD | DAY 9 |
SIR DNF |
LBH | LS | DET | S6H 6 |
MSP | LRP | ELK | VIR | AUS | PET | 34th | 73 |
| TRG-AMR North America | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | GTD | DAY | SIR | LBH | LS | DET | S6H | MSP | LRP | ELK | VIR | AUS | PET 10 | |||
| 2015 | TRG-AMR North America | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | GTD | DAY 13 |
SIR 2 |
LBH | LS 5 |
DET 2 |
S6H DNF |
MSP | LRP 3 |
ELK 2 |
VIR 2 |
AUS 8 |
PET 9 |
2nd | 279 |
| 2016 | Scuderia Corsa | Ferrari 488 GT3 | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | GTD | DAY 6 |
SIR 1 |
LBH | LS 2 |
DET 3 |
S6H 1 |
MSP 4 |
LRP 11 |
ELK 3 |
VIR 7 |
AUS 3 |
PET 2 |
1st | 299 |
| 2017 | Scuderia Corsa | Ferrari 488 GT3 | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | GTD | DAY 16 |
SIR 2 |
LBH 3 |
AUS 2 |
DET 2 |
S6H 2 |
MSP 3 |
LRP 6 |
ELK 5 |
VIR 12 |
LS 1 |
PET 9 |
1st | 340 |
*Season still in progress.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Formula Racing
|
Johnny Laursen Mikkel Mac
|
Ferrari 458 Italia GTC | GTE Am |
319 | 35th | 6th |
| 2017 |  Scuderia Corsa
|
 Alessandro Balzan Bret Curtis
|
Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Am |
314 | 44th | 14th |
References
- ^ Sportscar365.com (Oct 1, 2016). "Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan clinch GTD championship". Fox Sports.com. Retrieved Oct 1, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Dagys, John. "TRG-AMR Signs Nielsen for GTD Program with Davison". Sportscar365.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ DiZinno, Tony. "Scuderia Corsa Confirms GTLM, GTD Programs". SportsCar365. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ Marshall Pruett (Oct 1, 2016). "IMSA: Nielsen, Balzan clinch GTD championship". Racer Media. Retrieved Oct 2, 2016.
- ^ "Weathertech SportsCar Championship standings for 2016". Racing Reference. Oct 1, 2016. Retrieved Oct 2, 2016.
- ^ Sportscar365.com (2016-08-07). "Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan clinch GTD championship". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links
- Official website
- Christina Nielsen career summary at DriverDB.com