Nielsen punctuates IMSA season with strong performances in double-duty weekend

Nielsen alternated her time on the track between her No. 25 NGT Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car and the No. 007 Aston Martin for TRG AMR in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. 

“I was definitely working hard to adjust going back and forth between the Porsche and Aston Martin,” Nielsen said. “But that is part of being a pro driver, which is where I hope to be. I think a professional driver needs to be able to master both sprint and endurance race disciplines.” 

That’s exactly what Nielsen tried to do throughout the four-day event at the 12-turn, 2.54-mile course. She alternated TUDOR practice sessions with her two Porsche GT3 races. 

In her first race, Round 15 of the Porsche single-make series, Nielsen ran a steady race, overcoming some traffic and minor car issues to finish in a solid sixth-place Thursday, Oct. 2. 

“In general, I was really quite happy with the race,” Nielsen said. “I had very steady lap times and even adjusting from the Aston Martin I think I found my rhythm quickly.”

After a couple more TUDOR practices sprinkled in her schedule, Nielsen took the track in her Porsche for a rainy finale Friday. Nielsen, starting sixth, capitalized on a race-opening incident involving four cars in front of her. Nielsen escaped the mayhem to grab two positions, moving up to fourth.

Nielsen, from Aarhus, Denmark, ran a clean race the rest of the way and drove her way to third place for her second podium finish of the season. The result also secured her a sixth-place finish in the Platinum Cup Drivers’ Championship.

“It was a nice to show by the end of the season that we could be up there,” Nielsen said. “We ran a smart race. I was a little bit careful in the start, and as you can see, it paid off. Knowing the podium was in reach, I wanted to go for it, but I also wanted to keep it safe and smart. 

“But as my dad used to always say, ‘You’re never better than your last race.’ I’m pretty happy with it. I have to thank my team and Porsche; it was a really good way to end it.”

 With her full season of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama complete, Nielsen turned her full attention to the 10-hour endurance race. Her TRG team started on the GT Daytona class pole after an impressive qualifying effort by teammate James Davison.

 Nielsen took her first stint in the No. 007 Aston Martin a little less than three hours into the race. After going out in 14th, Nielsen made her way through the field, climbing as high as third place during what turned into a long stint.

 Nielsen took one more behind the wheel, but an electrical problem forced the car to lose power down the straight. The team ended up taking the checkered flag in 10th-place. 

“Overall I’m really happy with my own performance and the overall performance of the team,” Nielsen said. “You have to have a little bit of luck in races like this. No one could have predicted we were going to have that problem with the car. There was nothing indicating we were going to have any problems leading up to Saturday, but that’s just how racing is. 

“There are a lot of external elements that you can’t do anything about. So thinking about the things we could influence, I’m really happy with how it turned out. Both of my co-drivers and the entire crew did an amazing job. This is my favorite event of the year and my favorite track. And hopefully it won’t be my last time here. I’ll definitely be trying to go for a podium at some point.”