Casper Nissen gained experience rather than trophies when he competed in the penultimate round of the USF Juniors Championship at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut with the Jay Howard Driver Development team.
Following strong results at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the fast driver from Denmark was hoping to build on that form in this weekend’s race – even though he knew beforehand that it might prove difficult. The small circuit in the eastern US does not have many corners, but requires a specific driving style to compete at the very front of the field.
This became clear in qualifying, where he managed only the 18th-fastest lap time. His frustration was evident, but the teenager from Toftlund kept fighting to translate the experience and input from the team’s engineers into speed on the track.
He made progress again in the weekend’s first race, where Casper Nissen worked his way up to 13th place before his throttle jammed and he was forced off the track. Fortunately, nothing serious happened, but due to the fault he had to retire from the race.
In the weekend’s second race, he once again managed to fight his way up to 13th place before the chequered flag was waved. Overall, Casper Nissen is pleased with the progress made over the weekend:
“It was difficult for me to adapt my driving style. Lime Rock is very special because you hardly need to use the brakes at all around the circuit, and that’s not something I’ve tried before. I think things went really well in the right direction, not least thanks to the team’s engineers and their feedback, so even though I would have preferred to secure a top finish, I’ve learnt a lot,” says Casper Nissen, who can now enjoy the Danish summer before the season concludes at Road America on 24–26 September.
“I feel I’ve had my fair share of misfortune and lessons learnt this season, so I’ll be doing everything I can to finish the season strongly. That means intensive training over the next two months,” says Casper Nissen.