The battle for the GT Daytona championship is expected to come down the final laps at Petit Le Mans with Danish ace Christina Nielsen looking to turn a one point lead into a championship win.

Nielsen of TRG Aston Martin clings to that single point lead in GTD standings over Paul Miller Racing Audi’s Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke heading into the TUDOR Championship season finale.

The second generation Danish racer has been a consistent force throughout 2015 – taking five podium finishes.  Australian James Davison took up the co-driving duties with Nielsen in the first half of the season before 2014 TUDOR Championships GTLM driver champion Kuno Wittmer  joined the TRG team as her co-driver mid-season.

Wittmer is no stranger to pressure at Petit Le Mans – it was here last year where he clinched his GTLM championship aboard the SRT Dodge Viper.

“I am really looking forward to this weekend. It is very exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Nielsen said.

“We are entering the race as class leaders but with the small margin there is no room for mistakes. There is a lot of pressure, but I will try to enjoy it, have fun and win. Road Atlanta is my favourite track and I think we will be very strong.

“Winning the GTD Championship would be a dream come through and I would be very proud to be the first woman to win a major international sportscar championship”.

Nielsen’s father Lars Eric was also a talented racer – finishing third at Le Mans in GT2 in 2008. The Nielsen family are continuing the tradition of fast Danish sports car drivers – following on from the likes of Tom Kristensen and Jan Magnussen. One of Christina’s mentors was another fast Dane Allan Simonsen who she teamed up with in the German ADAC championship before he tragically died at Le Mans in 2013.

This weekend at Petit Le Mans not only is the Hasse/von Moltke Audi just one point adrift, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell of Scuderia Corsa Ferrari are just an additional three points back and very much in the championship mix. 

The Dodge Viper GT3R of Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating and the Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America of Mario Farnbacher and Ian James round out the top five.

Top two photos courtesy Jan Kaiser