Andreas and Jessica Bäckman confirm 2018 STCC campaign with WestCoast Racing

Andreas and Jessica Bäckman will race in the full 2018 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship after a successful touring car racing debut last weekend in the TCR UK opener at Silverstone, with WestCoast Racing fielding a pair of Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs for the two drivers.

22-year-old Andreas Bäckman secured a second-place finish in his second race, while his sister, 20-year-old Jessica, put on a strong performance to break into the top ten in both races.

The two drivers have now been confirmed as part of the STCC driver line-up for this year, with the five-time championship winning team returning to Sweden under its own name after three years in the TCR International Series.

“It feels great to be back in the STCC, and it’s exciting to be there with two promising young drivers in Andrew and Jessica,” said team principal Dick Jönsson Wigroth.

“It is part of WestCoast’s history to work with young drivers, and after Andreas and Jessica’s strong effort at Silverstone, it is exciting to return to the STCC with a car for each of them. We have years of experience in TCR now, and are very proud that they wanted to give us the opportunity to help them with their debut in the STCC.”

Andreas Bäckman, buoyed by his podium success at Silverstone in the opening round of the TCR UK championship, is looking forward to the challenge of racing in his home championship.

“It’s obviously a big challenge,” he said. “The tracks are new to me and I will have the challenge to learn both the cars and the tracks, but I’m ready for it. The weekend at Silverstone was very useful and I look forward to learning the circuits at home and quickly getting into it.

“I have full respect for the opposition in the STCC, but I aim to be able to challenge for podiums, and after Silverstone, I feel that is not an impossible goal.”

Younger sister Jessica likewise is relishing the challenge, following in the footsteps of her brother, both coming from go-karting and rallycross.

“It will be great to debut in the STCC and to get the chance to do it with team as good as WestCoast Racing,” she said. “Although the conditions were difficult at Silverstone, I think it went better than expected. The whole team works very well together and although there’s a big challenge for me waiting in the STCC with new cars, new tracks, new competition and a new championship, I want to be there and to fight.”