Christina Nielsen (born 10 January 1992 in Hørsholm, Denmark) is a Danish racing driver who is the first female driver to win a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series title. She is the daughter of racing driver Lars-Erik Nielsen, who raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2000s.[1]
| Christina Nielsen | |
|---|---|
 Christina Nielsen, Zandvoort 2012 | |
| Nationality |  Danish |
| Born | 10 January 1992 Hørsholm, Denmark |
| Related to | Lars-Erik Nielsen (father) |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2014 |
| Current team | Team Hardpoint EBM |
| Racing licence |  FIA Bronze |
| Car number | 88 |
| Former teams | Scuderia Corsa TRG-AMR North America NGT Motorsport Wright Motorsport, Grasser Racing Team |
| Starts | 58 |
| Championships | 2 (2016, 2017) |
| Wins | 4 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2016, 2017 |
| 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 Formula Ford Denmark Karting |
| Championship titles | |
| 2016-2017 | WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD |
Racing career
editKarting
editNielsen started her karting career in 2007. After karting for a couple of years, she switched to formula racing in 2010.
Formel Ford Denmark & ADAC Formel Masters
editAfter 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
editFor 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
editIMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series results
edit24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| 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 |
| 2018 | Ebimotors
|
Fabio Babini Erik Maris
|
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Am |
332 | 31st | 6th |
| Sources:[15][16] | |||||||
Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Ovr. Pos. |
Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  WS Racing
|
 Pippa Mann Célia Martin Carrie Schreiner
|
Audi R8 LMS GT4 Evo | SP8 | 52 | 45th | 1st |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Iron Dames | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 | SEB | SPA 10 |
LMS | MNZ | FUJ | BHR | 27th | 1 |
| Sources:[15][17] | ||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ 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 (6 November 2014). "TRG-AMR Signs Nielsen for GTD Program with Davison". Sportscar365.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ DiZinno, Tony (15 December 2015). "Scuderia Corsa Confirms GTLM, GTD Programs". SportsCar365. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ Marshall Pruett (Oct 1, 2016). "IMSA: Nielsen, Balzan clinch GTD championship". Racer Media. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved Oct 2, 2016.
- ^ "Weathertech SportsCar Championship standings for 2016". Racing Reference. Oct 1, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. 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) - ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2016 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2017 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2018 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASACR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2019 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2020 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen – 2021 Weathertech SportsCar Championship Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Christina Nielsen Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Christina Nielsen". FIA World Endurance Championship. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
External links
edit- Official website
- Christina Nielsen career summary at DriverDB.com