As reigning rookie champion, Nicklas Nielsen was officially handed his prize: a turbocharged Abarth engine for his race car.
By repeatedly collecting points and being the best rookie in six out of 24 races, Nicklas Nielsen won the ADAC Formula 4 Rookie championship with Neuhauser Racing last year. But the 20-year-old not only received a winning trophy at the end of season ceremony in October last year, but in addition, he also won an Abarth turbocharged four-cylinder engine for his race car.
Abarth is the exclusive engine partner of the junior category since it started in 2015. The brand was founded in 1949 by Carlo Abarth, an Austrian who lived for motor racing. The Abarth logo – the scorpion – is the sign of his birth month, November. In ADAC Formula 4, the 1.4-litre 414 TF engine produces 160 horsepower with a maximum torque of 250Nm, with the top speed being around 210km/h.
Photo: Annika Göcke
Away from the track, Abarth is known for its co-operation with Fiat, where the F4 engine’s basic form can be found in the 595 model range, producing between 145 to 180 hp, along with 190hp in the 695 edition. To be used on the race track, the engine received a special design for motorsport.
Coming back to the Hørning-born driver, Nielsen switched to US Racing, Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher’s team for the 2017 season. Apart from winning the rookie championship, Nielsen underlined his strong debut season with eighth in the overall championship standings, which also boosted him to being one of the top candidates for this year’s title.
“US Racing have shown their potential by having two successful seasons. I would like to move forward from here, and I hope we will have a successful 2017 together”, said the Dane. During the recent test days in Oschersleben, the US Racing driver felt comfortable but pointed out: “Of course it is still too early to say anything.”
However, it will get serious on 28th April when the F4 field returns to Oschersleben in East Germany, to get underway with the first race weekend of the season.
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