Why Bäckman wrote a page of history … for two reasons
Jessica Bäckman made a page of history in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup in several ways, when the championship opened last weekend at the Nordschleife.
In addition to becoming the first woman to compete in the series, the 23-year-old Swede became the first female driver to score points in WTCR behind the wheel of her Goodyear-equipped Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
After finishing Race 1 in 21st position, the Target Competition driver came back from the back of the grid to finish her first WTCR weekend with a 14th position in Race 2.
“I got off to a pretty good start in the first race, but ended up on the wrong side in the second corner and lost a few positions,” said Bäckman. “I wasn’t very fast on the first lap and lost a bit, but on the last two laps I picked up the two cars ahead of me so it was a decent race. But I wasn’t really happy with the settings so I adjusted them for the second race and the car felt a lot better and easier to drive. ”
“The start was good, but in the second corner there was an accident, I tried to avoid it but had to go on the grass. When I came back to the track it was quite slippery and I had to warm the tires up, but after that the car was good and I was saving time all the time. ”
“My lap times have improved a lot since [les qualifications] and I also scored my first points so I’m very happy and thank you to the team for a great weekend. ”
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