The South Jutland racing driver was challenged on a new and unfamiliar racetrack.
Unlike most other tracks on the Nordic 4 race calendar, it is not possible to train at Ring Djursland outside of race weekends. That’s why Casper Nissen was excited about the weekend when he was able to walk around the track for the first time on Friday.
After a single practice session, the 14-year-old racing driver from Toftlund was already so well up to speed that he set the sixth fastest lap time in qualifying for the first race of the weekend. Here he drove his way to fourth place after fighting for third place for a good part of the race.
Expectations had therefore risen slightly when he took to the track on Sunday morning for the second of the weekend’s three races. From fifth place he was making progress, but after a few laps he collided with another driver and had the front wing torn off his car:
– “It was just really unfortunate circumstances. I was driving on the outside of him through a corner and because he was hit from behind, he didn’t realise I was on his side. It caused us both damage to the car, but luckily nothing else happened,” says Casper Nissen.
The car was able to continue the race, but without a front wing and in significantly worse condition than when the race started. Nevertheless, Casper Nissen took up the fight and drove his way to ninth place behind his Greek team-mate.
In Sunday’s final race, Casper got a good start from sixth place and drove his way through the field. Towards the end of the race, however, he had to drop back as the car lost power due to a hole in the manifold – and that affected his focus, he admits:
– “It was actually a good race, but the car lost power at the end of the race and that also made me lose focus a bit. It went just as well, so it was a shame, but all in all I’m happy with the fifth place I came away with. It’s been a bit of a tough weekend,” admits Casper Nissen, who is positive about both the weekend and the rest of the season:
– “Ring Djursland is a fun track that almost feels like a ride on a carousel. It goes up and down and there wasn’t much time to relax along the way, so it’s been great. And now it’s on to another track that I’ve never driven on before either. It places high demands on my adaptability, and it’s actually a fun challenge – so I’m looking forward to being back in the car again,” says the smiling South Jutlander.
The next race will be held at Falkenberg Motorbana in Sweden on 11-13 July.