TAKING on the renowned Mount Panorama circuit as part of the Bathurst 12 Hour field is an item on the must-do list of many of the world’s top GT drivers, but when it comes to Christina Nielsen there was an extra lure.
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For the 27-year-old from Denmark the fact the pole position award is named after the late Allan Simonsen – a man who mentored her – it meant coming to the Mount carried special significance.
Before his death in 2013 at Le Mans, Danish driver Simonsen was a huge supporter of the Bathurst 12 Hour and he previously held the track record.
“Allan was a good friend of the family. He co-drove with my Dad [Lars Erik Nielsen] and I co-drove with him as well,” Nielsen said.
“So I think it’s a huge honour.
“It’s definitely something I think that’s very special and very close to my heart.”
For her Bathurst 12 Hour debut, Nielsen forms part of the Griffith Corp Team Nineteen Black Falcon driver line up.
She shares the seat of the #19 Mercedes AMG with 12 Hour regular Mark Griffith and Dutchman Yelmer Buurman, a man who formed part of the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup winning line-up.
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Griffith also has a corporate suite at Bathurst with Iveco (New South Wales and Far North Queensland) for the weekend, while fellow racer Rod Salmon has a link to the team via sponsorship from his company One World.
Buurman qualified the car for the top 10 shootout by clocking a 2:02.4726 lap, a mark which ranked as the fourth fastest.
He then peeled off a 2:03.3646 lap in the shootout, which will see the Mercedes go from position eight on Sunday morning.
Though Nielsen did not partake in the one-lap flyer battle for the Allan Simonsen Pole Position Trophy herself, she is still enjoying testing her skills at the Mount.
Competing here adds to her already impressive motor sport resume.
“It’s pretty amazing to be honest, it’s been an item on my bucket list for a long time,” she said.
“I’ve done some very cool ones, I’ve done Nürburgring once, the 24 hours, I’ve done Le Mans, I’ve done Daytona, Sebring, Petite LeMans, I think the one I am missing is Spa 24 Hours.
“But at the age of 27, I think it’s very cool that I get to check so many items off my list.”
As for what she found to be the biggest element to adjust to at the 6.213 kilometre circuit she labelled “super challenging”, it was just how close the walls are to the track at various points.
They are a lot closer than what she encounters when in her regular seat contesting the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car series in the United States.
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“We are used to elevation changes in America I would say, we have a few tracks that have that as well. Many of them are all sport tracks where track limits aren’t really discussed because you have grass next to you,” she said.
“So I think the biggest thing are the walls. It’s super narrow and I think that’s the biggest challenge. It’s not the elevation, it’s the fact you are driving between walls.
“I hadn’t thought about it until I was on the track, but you are up on a mountain.
“But I think once the race goes there is only one thing ahead in you mind and that’s ‘forward’.”
The race starts at 5.45am Sunday morning.