Press release -
Victory and podium spots defines the Bäckman siblings’ 2019
For Andreas and Jessica Bäckman, the 2019 season has meant several impressive achievements, some even historical ones. The successes have not only given new confidence; their team are now announced as this year's Team Champions.
When Andreas and Jessica entered the 2019 season, they did it with a new team, a new Hyundai i30 N TCR car each and all new opportunities. As part of the Italian team Target Competition, they were selected for the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver program. The initiative works to promote young, promising racing drivers with, for example, coaching by experts and developing training. And as we know by now, the new team, Hyundai's junior program and, not least, the siblings' determined dedication generated very good results.
First woman at a TCR Europe podium spot
For the Bäckman siblings, the season meant entering prestigious competitions such as TCR Europe, TCR Scandinavia and TCR Germany. In the former, Jessica will go down in history, as her third place made her the first woman of all time to reach the podium in TCR Europe.
– It was an incredible feeling to cross the finish line! The support from everyone around me was strong but the performance also made me exceed my own expectations and I won a new confidence, Jessica Bäckman says.
In addition to the historic achievement, she also managed to score a third place in TCR Scandinavia and a second place in TCR Germany. Her brother Andreas also made a great impression during the season.
Victory in Barcelona
At the Oschersleben circuit in Germany, Andreas took his first pole position and race win, but was later excluded and could not retain the victory. A month and a half later, he took his second straight pole position in the qualification, and finally got his first win of the season.
– My wish for revenge was strong and to win in Barcelona was absolutely fantastic. Towards the end of the year, everything started to fall into place and I finally began to reach great results, Andreas Bäckman says.
On the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, Andreas also took a well-deserved podium spot, where impressive driving generated a third place.
Team Champions of 2019
In early November, Jessica was selected to compete for Sweden in the Motorsport Olympics, FIA Motorsport Games. Her achievement was brilliant, and Jessica ended up in sixth place among the 20 international drivers. And as the TCR Europe Championship now has ended and all points are counted, team Target Competition are announced as the winner of the 2019 championship. In addition, Andreas places himself in a superb fourth place among the 37 drivers of the championship.
– The expectations we and the team had for the season included possibly taking some podium spots and reaching top 10. Both me and Jessica are so incredibly grateful for all the support and would like to thank team Target Competition and Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing. To finish as Team Champions is a dream coming true and we now look forward to the 2020 season, Andreas says.
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Racingsyskonen Andreas och Jessica Bäckman inledde sina respektive racingkarriärer som blott 9 och 7 år gamla. De har genom åren tävlat i stora förarmästerskap som STCC, Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, och den brittiska motsvarigheten TCR UK, med fantastiska framgångar som resultat. Under 2019 tävlar syskonen i prestigefyllda TCR Europe tillsammans med det flerfaldigt prisbelönta, italienska teamet Target Competition. Syskonens tävlingsbilar är varsin Hyundai i30 N TCR.
The racing siblings Andreas and Jessica Bäckman started their racing careers as 9 and 7 years old. They have during the years been competing in big championships like STCC, Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and the British counterpart TCR UK, with fantastic success as results. During 2019 the sibilings are competing in the prestigious TCR Europe together with the multiple award winning Italian team Target Competition. The siblings racecars are Hyundai i30 N TCR.
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