Nielsen Storms to Sixth at Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen - Speedway Digest

Christina Nielsen persevered through the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen June 29 to gain nine positions in the GT Daytona class and claim a sixth-place finish with co-driver Kuba Giermaziak. From the 15^th starting position, Nielsen and co-driver Giermaziak capitalized on their fellow competitors’ errors to climb through the field.

Nielsen, 22, from Aarhus, Denmark, is competing in the Patrón North American Endurance Cup, which rewards the top-performing teams and drivers in the four longest races within the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

“I thought we had a good race, and my co-driver Kuba gained us several places in an awesome first stint,” Nielsen said. “We kept a good pace through the entire race. I think it’s always an accomplishment when you finish an endurance race. Six hours is a long distance, and we completed that without really going off track or making any major driving mistakes. It was nice to feel that we could keep up with the faster guys, as they weren’t able to pull away as much from us. We had a few issues at Watkins Glen that cost us time, and I think we’ve got our eyes on those to fix for next time,” she said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction, and if we keep working like this we’re going to be really strong in Petit Le Mans.”

Nielsen also raced in her full-season series – the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama – at Watkins Glen, finishing fifth in Round 7 and seventh in Round 8.

“I felt like my performance in Porsche GT3 Cup USA this weekend was OK, but overall I felt like we were missing something,” she said. “It is a difficult track, especially when you’re fighting against drivers who have raced here before. I believe I probably had a bit to gain from a driving perspective, and I think we had a bit more to get out of the car, too. It’s difficult to hit the setup every time, and sometimes you don’t get it right.”

Nielsen is sixth in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama championship standings, with 65 points after seven rounds of racing. She will return to her Porsche 911 race car July 10-13 during the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. Nielsen’s next race appearance in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship will be Oct. 4 in the season finale at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
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.