Experienced touring car racer Michel Nykjær will return to the World Touring Car Championship this season at the wheel of Nika Racing’s Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T.
Nykjær, who spent 2012 competing in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship for Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden, already has significant WTCC experience having made his debut in 2009 and competed in 50 races at the wheel of Chevrolet and SEAT machinery. Nykjær was last seen in the series at Brazil in 2012 as a last-minute stand-in for the ill Pasquale Di Sabatino at bamboo engineering.
In 2012 Nykjær took five race victories on his way to third overall in the STCC, narrowly missing out on the title in only the last meeting of the season. He has also won the European Touring Car Cup in 2007 and 2008 and the Danish Touring Car Championship in 2007 and 2009.
“I’m thrilled to return to action in the WTCC, and especially with NIKA Racing,” said Nykjær. “We have gained huge respect for each other in our STCC programme, and we are definitely ready to take this step. The WTCC is incredibly competitive, but I think we have some important ingredients in place for a strong campaign. I know the majority of the circuits on the calendar, and the Chevrolet Cruze has been the car to beat over the past few years. I’m immensely motivated to get going and I will fight for every tenth, every lap!”
Nicklas Karlsson, Nika Racing Team Principal, is expecting to be able to challenge several of the more experienced teams during 2013.
“Michel is one of the fastest touring car drivers in the world and we are delighted to extend our relationship with him. The combination of driver, car and a highly enthusiastic workforce gives us an encouraging platform on which to build over the season, and hopefully the tools we need to take the fight to our experienced rivals.”