The South Jutland motorsport talent got his money’s worth when the Nordic 4 Championship visited the Swedish former Formula 1 track east of Gothenburg at the weekend.
Although the Toftlund driver and STEP Motorsport had had a single practice day on the track prior to the race weekend, he had to settle for the sixth fastest lap time in the timed session. When the first race started, the car wouldn’t get into gear, which meant that Casper Nissen had to drive his way from the bottom of the field of more than 20 cars, and with a great effort he managed to finish the race in seventh place.
This in turn resulted in a second place starting position in the next heat, and Nissen held on well, even though his more experienced teammate managed to get past and there was a lot of pressure on the young driver from behind. With a third place and fifth place on the grid in the final heat, the stage was set for an exciting heat – and it was.
From the start, an intense battle was waged to secure a top position, and the 14-year-old talent had to use all his strength to get ahead of the field, but towards the end the pace dropped drastically and a disappointed Casper Nissen had to settle for seventh place when he crossed the finish line for the last time.
– “There was nothing left in the tyres, so I had to back off. It’s really frustrating because I had good speed and we had some good battles – but it’s part of the development to learn how the tyres work in these situations,” says Casper Nissen, who is however satisfied with the weekend as a whole:
– “I lacked a little speed in practice and timing, but in the races the speed was back and I felt good. It was a shame that I didn’t get much out of the start in the first heat, but it was great to fight all the way back, and Anderstorp is just a great track to drive on. I’ve learnt a lot, so I can continue my development with STEP Motorsport,” says Casper Nissen.
In three weeks’ time, Casper Nissen will be back in action when he and STEP Motorsport return to Sweden for the second round of the Nordic Championship, which will be held at Gelleråsen Arena near Karlskoga.