Pole-position and lap-record

The fifth round of the TCR Europe Championship was held at the Oschersleben track in Germany last weekend. The Swedish siblings Andreas and Jessica Bäckman was excited and hopeful heading into event – and they showed that the speed was back and the weekend resulted in a pole-position, a new lap-record and strong races from the siblings.

The 3,667 km long track at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is a technical and demanding track, that challenged the 28 race drivers during the weekend. During the Free Practice sessions on Friday, the track suited the siblings straight away, and they had a good feeling in both the car and their driving when heading into the Qualifying on Saturday.

Success in the Qualifying

When it was time for the Qualifying on Saturday morning, it proved to be a success for the siblings. Andreas qualified on pole-position with a big margin down to second place, which was his first pole-position in the prestigious championship, and he also beated the lap-record. Also, Jessica had her best Qualifying of the season as she managed to qualify sixth, when it all counted in the final qualifying segment Q2.

Strong races by the siblings

Then when it was time for Race 1, Andreas started in the front and Jessica in fifth place. In the start, Andreas was out in second place and then had a hard fight for the lead during the whole race, where he finally managed to find a gap and went for the overtake for the lead. He then managed to win his first TCR Europe race.

Unfortunately, the car did not pass the post-race technical checks and Andreas was therefore disqualified and got his victory taken away.

Jessica’s first race was unfortunately of short duration. She had a good start and was up into third place into turn 3, where she was pushed off the track by another driver and had to retire later with technical problems because of that.

After the disappointment from the first race at Saturday, the siblings wanted their revenge in Race 2 on Sunday. Jessica had a good race where she finished in sixth place and Andreas advanced up to ninth from tenth on the grid, which resulted in more points for both siblings.

Jessica’s comments about the weekend:

”Overall, it was a positive weekend and a step in the right direction. I showed that I have the speed to be in the top, as I had my best qualifying of the season. The bad luck was in Race 1 when I had to retire because I got hit in turn 2 when I was in third place. Then in Race 2 I managed to finish in sixth, which I’m happy with.”

Andreas’ comments about the weekend.:

”Looking at the weekend in general, it was a fantastic weekend with good speed all the way through, especially in qualifying. Of course, it was a big disappointment to get disqualified, but I focus on the positives and I’m looking forward to Barcelona in one and half months’ time.”

Next up is the sixth round of TCR Europe 2019, September 20-22, held in Barcelona, Spain.

Andreas' results
FP1 (Free Practice 1): 6th place
FP2 (Free Practice 2): 4th place
Q1 (Qualifying 1): 1st place
Q2 (Qualifying 2): 1st place
R1 (Race 1): 1st place (disqualified after the race)
R2 (Race 2): 9th place

Jessica's results
FP1 (Free Practice 1): 10th place
FP2 (Free Practice 2): 16th place
Q1 (Qualifying 1): 12th place
Q2 (Qualifying 2): 6th place
R1 (Race 1): Retired
R2 (Race 2): 6th place

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