Viktor Andersson thrilled to break touring car victory duck on TCR UK debut
Viktor Andersson switched from single-seaters to touring car racing last year, and became a race winner in the latter last weekend at Brands Hatch.
The 20-year-old Swede took part in TCR UK’s opening round to prepare for his second season in TCR Europe, and also to help the Pro Alloys Racing team learn the Lynk & Co 03 TCR car which he had experience of from TCR Europe and the FIA TCR World Tour in 2023.
He was second fastest in his maiden qualifying session on UK soil, ending up just 0.029 seconds short of Race 1 pole. A strong start meant he was into the lead of that race straight away and he stayed there all the way to the finish with a winning margin of just 0.269s.
“It was difficult [to keep the lead]. I was unsure how the start would go. Made a quite good launch, or Callum [Newsham, the poleman] didn’t make it perfect, so I managed to get P2 in the first corner,” Andersson explained.
“And then it was calm a few laps, but most of the laps it was not calm. It was a lot of side-view mirror looking. But it paid off in the end. Some bumps on the rear bumper I see from another, but it’s worth it. It’s so good, it’s my first win in touring car racing, actually. So so, so nice, so happy.”
He admitted he could not relax as “it was a really exhausting race, a good exercise, very hot in the car”, and credited the pace of his car for the victory: “Big thank you to the team, to Lynk & Co, Pro Alloys Racing, the car was mega.”
In an Instagram post he added he was “so happy to bring home the win in a very tight first race”.
As it stands, Andersson will not have the opportunity to follow up his success in TCR UK as his focus switches to TCR Europe which begins this weekend. There he will drive for the MA:GP team run by his father that has been supporting his Pro Alloys Racing-run entry at Brands Hatch.
