Petaluma, CA (August 26th, 2014) – After a weekend that saw eight Aston Martin racecars spread over 3,000 miles and racing in two separate series, TRG-AMR’s newest addition to the team, Christina Nielsen, secured a podium finish at Sonoma Raceway in Pirelli World Challenge competition on Sunday. Nielsen, a rising GT racing star in Europe and the US, is no stranger to competitive racing, however, the Pirelli World Challenge paddock is home to many seasoned and battle-hardened GT racing veterans from around the globe. Nielsen took the challenge in stride, piloting the No.00 PassTime Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 around the famously technical road course with the best of them, turning incredibly competitive laps and running two clean races during the doubleheader weekend.
Christina Nielsen, TRG-AMR Team Driver, WC GTA: “What a great weekend with the team. My father drove at Le Mans with Kevin and TRG, so we’re well aware of his history and his determination to win. I had never driven Sonoma prior to a couple weeks ago when I came out here for a test day with the team. The team’s engineers, mechanics, marketing, hospitality, and other staff made it such a great experience, plus I was nearly as quick as the team pro around the track! That was when I knew I needed to take a shot at racing the GT3.
I was really excited and jumped at the opportunity to drive in Pirelli World Challenge – the GT3 is an unbelievably capable car. While testing at Sonoma I was impressed with how easily I adapted to the car and its power and aero. I’d never driven at Sonoma before then, and the TRG-AMR team helped me with data and video; the car was incredibly fast and easy to drive – I was able to get up to speed very quickly. I couldn’t be happier with the podium finish, and I’m looking forward to more fun racing here in Pirelli World Challenge!”
Kevin Buckler, CEO, TRG-AMR North America: “Wow, just WOW. Christina really surprised everyone this weekend, especially some of the guys she blew away! She’s the total driver package – quick, understands car setup and can communicate with the engineers effectively, responds well to data and video feedback, very well-spoken and likeable, good with PR – she’s got quite the future in professional motorsports. She developed quite the fan club this weekend and I know our sponsors were happy. The Pirelli World Challenge and other media people were incredibly excited to have her on board and made sure to give her plenty of attention. It’s good for the series and good for racing in general to have a bright new face in the field. I’m really happy that we were able to help Christina with her first North American race and hope there are many more in the future – it’s obvious that she’s a welcome addition to the paddock and can drive with the best GT drivers in the sport.”