Press release -
The Bäckman’s ready for their WTCR debut at the Green Hell
The Sweden National Team drivers Andreas and Jessica Bäckman are ready and excited for their debut in WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup. The first round is held this weekend at the one of the world’s toughest tracks, Nürburgring Nordschleife, a 25 km long track with over 150 corners.
- It will be a tough start to the season as we have not driven much in the new cars yet, Jessica Bäckman says.
This weekend, June 3-5, the season opener of the FIA WTCR series will take place on the classic Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany. It will be the siblings' debut in the prestigious series and the debut in their new Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars.
- It feels really exciting that the season is finally starting now. It will be tough to start the season on one of the most challenging tracks on the calendar. But I look forward to the weekend and I feel ready to take on the challenge, Andreas Bäckman says.
The structure of the WTCR series
The 2021 season will consist of five competitions in Europe and it ends with three competitions in Asia. The start of the season will take place on one of the world's toughest tracks, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, an approximately 25 km long track with over 150 corners and ending on the well-known Macau track, located near Hong Kong. Each event is built on two practice sessions, one timed qualifying and two races. Points are awarded to the top 5 in the timed qualifying and the top 15 in each race. The driver with the most points after the last race in Asia will take home the driver title "FIA Drivers Title" in the WTCR series.
Photo: Private (Free rights to use the images)
Nürburgring - The Green Hell
The Nürburgring Nordschleife, also known as "The Green Hell", is one of the toughest tracks in the world. Formula 1 raced on this 25 km long track from 1927 until 1976 when the world champion Niki Lauda was involved in a serious accident. Nowadays, Formula 1 runs on the Nürburgring GP track, which is about 4 km long. Since 2018, the WTCR has raced on this famous track the same weekend as the Nürburgring 24-hour race. It usually has, before Covid-19, a big audience with up to 200,000 spectators. June 3rd-5th, it is now time again when the WTCR is held at the same time as the Nürburgring 24-hour race, and the Bäckman siblings are ready.
- After the long break, I look forward to my debut in WTCR. It will be a tough start not least that we compete against the world's best drivers, but also that we compete with a completely new car model that we have not driven that much yet. It will be very exciting, and I feel ready for the challenge, Jessica Bäckman says.
WTCR is broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport
Throughout this season, all competitions will be broadcasted LIVE on both Eurosport 1 on TV and can also be streamed via Eurosport Player. The two free practice sessions are also broadcasted LIVE on WTCR's Facebook- and YouTube pages.
Timetable for this weekend (WTCR Round 1):
(all times are in CET/Swedish time)
Thursday June 3rd:
14:30 Free Practice 1 (Broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport Player & on FIA WTCR on Facebook and YouTube)
19:00 Free Practice 2 (Broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport Player & on FIA WTCR on Facebook and YouTube)
Friday June 4th:
14:05 Qualifying (Broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport Player)
Saturday June 5th:
8:30 Replay of the Qualifying (Broadcasted on Eurosport 1)
9:00 Race 1 (Broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport 1 & Eurosport Player)
10:20 Race 2 (Broadcasted LIVE on Eurosport 1 & Eurosport Player)
The FIA WTCR app
In the FIA WTCR app, you can follow the competitions with live timing, and there is also more information such as results and the championship standings. Here you will also find the latest news and photos. The FIA WTCR app is available on both App Store and Google Play.
About the track:
Location: Nürburgring Nordschleife, Germany
Length: 25,378 km
Corners: 154
Race length: 3 laps (76,134 km)
Track record (TCR): 8:51.802 / average speed 171.7 kph, Nestor Girolami (Honda Civic Type R TCR) 2020
Free rights to use the images.
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Racingsyskonen Andreas och Jessica Bäckman inledde sina respektive racingkarriärer som blott 9 och 7 år gamla. De har genom åren tävlat i stora förarmästerskap som STCC, Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, och den brittiska motsvarigheten TCR UK, samt i europamästerskapet TCR Europe, med fantastiska framgångar som resultat. Under 2021 tävlar syskonen i prestigefyllda FIA WTCR mästerskapet tillsammans med det flerfaldigt prisbelönta, italienska teamet Target Competition. Syskonens tävlingsbilar är varsin Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
The racing siblings Andreas and Jessica Bäckman started their racing careers as 9 and 7 years old. They have during the years been competing in big championships like STCC, Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and the British counterpart TCR UK, as well as the European series TCR Europe, with fantastic success as results. During 2021 the sibilings are competing in the prestigious FIA WTCR Championship together with the multiple award winning Italian team Target Competition. The siblings racecars are Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
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