Michel Nykjær confirms ETC Cup entry
After winning the Danish Touringcar Championship, Michel Nykjær, and his team, Perfection Racing, travels to Portugal to defend the European Touring Car Cup. A title Michel Nykjær has won two times in a row.
Nykjær joined up with Perfection Racing for the first time at the European Championship 2008. In his very first race in the Perfection Racing Chevrolet Lacetti, Nykjær won the first heat at the Salzburgring in Austria, and with a second place in the second heat he secured the title.
Since then Nykjær and Perfection Racing has been riding on a wave of success and have just made a clean sweep at the Danish Touringcar Championship, winning both the driver and the team championships.
Last year, Michel Nykjær arrived at the Salzburgring as reigning European champion with a – for him – completely new team. This time it’s a proven combination and that places Michel Nykjær as one of the favourites.
“Yes, I guess so as I arrive with two consecutive victories in the championship,” Michel Nykjær explains.
“But there are many others who are aiming for a win, so there’s gonna be a hard fight. As we saw in the DTC-finals anything can happen – and especially when everything will be decided in one day. It would be great to win again and make a hat trick, but it requires two perfect heats”
Team manager, Kent Bo Steffensen, acknowledges the role as favourite but is also well aware that there are many unknowns. Especially the track, which is a new acquaintance.
“We do not know anything about it at all. Ray Mallock, who often has helped us in the past when we’ve been away from Denmark, has not run at the track before, so we must find a good setup ourselves during Friday’s test.”
Michel Nykjær has however prepared himself a little in front of the computer.
“Yes, I have been searching YouTube for videos from the Braga circuit. I found quite a few, so I’ve been able to get an idea of the track.”
“We have a new race engineer joining the team for this race. He is a guy that I have worked with previously, when I was driving for SEAT. He is very clever and we understand each other well. This is extremely important, when he has to transfer my feeling of the car’s behaviour into the right chassis setup.”
Before the race there is a couple of days for practice and qualifying at the Braga circuit. Perfection Racing and Michel Nykjær will need those days to optimize their Chevrolet Lacetti for the circuit, because they will be the ones the competitors are watching.
