Young touring cars up-and-coming talent Jessica Bäckman will be part of the Swedish National Team development program for the second year in a row.
23-year old touring car up-and-coming talent Jessica Bäckman, among the protagonists of the 2019 and 2020 European-based TCR championship, has been announced to be part of the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation national team for the second year in a row, together with her brother and teammate Andreas.
The Swedish national federation started its national young driver program with the aim of developing its local talents and supporting its elite athletes up to the top series of international motor racing.
The young lady from Boden, north of the Scandinavian country, was selected in 2020 to be part of the "Sweden Junior Team", after a very competitive 2019 season in TCR Europe: Jessica in fact made headlines by becoming the first woman to score a podium finish in the continental TCR series - a result that she later repeated in guest appearances in TCR Germany and TCR Scandinavia.
"Great fun working with Andreas & Jessica! They have developed, gathered experience, and worked hard to reach their goal of competing at the World Cup level, WTCR.", said Pier Steffansson, captain of the Sweden National Team.
"We continue the work together with the National Team and with the siblings' drive, focus, commitment and the overall package Andreas and Jessica have around them, we put the puzzle together to take the next step".
Despite many of the National Team activities were cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020, Jessica and her brother now look forward to more opportunities in the upcoming season.
"Very happy and grateful that the Swedish National Team wants to continue to invest in us", commented Jessica. "It is an important piece of the puzzle for us to be able to continue our path towards competing in the World Cup."
"Being part of the National Team will also help us to develop as a driver and everything that comes with being an elite racing driver" - she concluded.
The Swedish siblings are also part of the Hyundai Motorsport Driver development program, while Jessica can also count on the support of the FIA Women In Motorsport commission.
At the wheel of the Target Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR, Jessica Bäckman endured a challenging 2020 season in TCR Europe, marked by several technical issues and accidents. She nonetheless showed promising speed in qualifying and often battled at the top-end of the pack in the races, claiming three top-10 finishes.
The Bäckman siblings are targeting a WTCR switch in the future - the World Cup of touring car racing. WTCR is also set to launch a Female Trophy in 2021, subject to at least 3 full-time female entries.