Christina Nielsen (born 10 January 1992 in

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) is a Danish racing driver who is the first female driver to win a

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

series title. She is the daughter of racing driver Lars-Erik Nielsen, who raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2000s.

Racing career

Karting

Nielsen started her

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

career in 2007. After

for a couple of years, she switched to formula racing in 2010.

Formel Ford Denmark & ADAC Formel Masters

After

from 2007 to 2009, Nielsen made her formula racing debut in 2010 in the Danish Formula Ford Championship. Finishing the season in 9th position. After doing two one-off appearances in the

ADAC Formel Masters ADAC Formel Masters was an ADAC sanctioned open wheel racing series based in Germany, held annually from 2008 to 2014. It was replacement of the local Formula BMW championship. The first season was in 2008 and is the main feeder series to the ATS F ...

in 2010, Nielsen went on to do a full season in 2011.

GT Racing

For 2012, Nielsen switched to the

Porsche Carrera Cup Germany The Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, (currently known as Porsche SIXT Carrera Cup Deutschland; known as Porsche 944 Turbo Cup between 1986–1989) is a one-make racing series by Porsche based in Germany. Champions Circuits * Adria International ...

running in the B-class. She ended the season 5th in class. In 2013, Nielsen switched to the

ADAC GT Masters The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT ...

. For 2014, Nielsen raced in the

United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association ( ...

for NGT Motorsport. In 2015, Nielsen ran the entire IMSA SportsCar Championship in a GTD Aston Martin Vantage V12 under the TRG-AMR banner, partnering with Kuno Wittmer and James Davison. She claimed four second-place finishes and a third, finishing runner-up two points behind Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler. Scuderia Corsa - Ferrari 488 GT3

The Dane continued in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016, joining Scuderia Corsa to drive alongside

Alessandro Balzan Alessandro Balzan (born 17 October 1980 in Rovigo) is an Italian auto racing driver. Racing career In 1998 he stepped up from Kart racing, by competing in Italian Formula Campus and the Italian Renault Megane Cup Winter Series. A year later he d ...

in a GTD-class Ferrari. She won the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

with

Jeff Segal Jeffrey Segal (born 27 April 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American racing driver who competes in the United SportsCar Championship for Michael Shank Racing. He is a two-time Rolex Sports Car Series GT class champion and winner of the ...

as third driver. With another win at

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

and four additional podiums throughout the season, Nielsen and Balzan won the 2016 IMSA SportsCar series Championship, with a 299-point total for the year, and thus Nielsen became the first woman to win a major full-season professional sports car championship in North America.

Racing record

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Christina 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Hørsholm Municipality Danish racing drivers Formula Ford drivers ADAC Formel Masters drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers American Le Mans Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers FIA Motorsport Games drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers AF Corse drivers Meyer Shank Racing drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers Strakka Racing drivers Ma-con Motorsport drivers Iron Lynx drivers Craft-Bamboo Racing drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Germany drivers Danish female racing drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers 21st-century Danish sportswomen