Meet Andreas Bäckman
Andreas got his karting license in 2005 at Luleå’s karting school in Sweden. He started his racing career the year after in the North Swedish Championship, and soon drove in many races in Sweden before he started his international career in 2010. In the years that followed Andreas raced around the world, with competitions and successes in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, England, Portugal, Las Vegas and New Orleans. During 2014–2016 he drove for the factory-team Kosmic, in the Formula 1 of Karting.
– I had hoped for better results, but the experience I got was overall very positive with the tough competition in mind. I learned a lot for the future.
In 2017 Andreas started with rallycross. With a new track surface, a new driving technique required and significantly shorter races.
– I really enjoyed the step up to rallycross, both with the challenge with all-new conditions in mind, but also since the sport has grown so much within the racing world. As the trend is heading towards mastering more disciplines, rallycross gave me a lot of valuable experiences such as car control.
In 2018, Andreas took the step up to Racing and started to compete in Touring Cars. During the season he competed in STCC, Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and also in the British counterpart TCR UK. He also did an appearance in the European series TCR Europe, where he now will compete for 2019.
What of your previous experiences did you bring to TCR Europe?
– Racing is more like karting and it’s great to be back on the track with more grip. International karting is probably the best school for racing, from where I mainly bring race techniques and experiences from shifter karts, where I learned standing starts and gear shifting. Rallycross taught me how to handle fewer laps where, like in TCR Europe, it’s important to be ready already from the start!
How was your racing-debut at Silverstone in the beginning of 2018?
– There’s a lot of people who wants autographs and then there’s a big media coverage with interviews and other attention. Everything is so much bigger, and the sport has a very good reputation in the media.
What kind of racing driver are you?
– My main strength is that I’m consistent, which means I usually always reach top results. I’m constantly working on improving my lowest level to become as good as I possibly can. In addition, I spend a lot of time on physical training and following all motorsport – it’s my way of keeping up-to-date.
What are your goals in the future?
– My goal for 2018 was to reach the podium, which I managed to do during the year. At the TCR UK race at Croft, UK I also took a pole-position and a win, which was over my expectations. When I go into the 2019 season in TCR Europe, the competition is going to be even harder, so my goal is to be fighting for the top-10 positions and to develop as a driver.
In the long run, I want to challenge the competition and become the best racing driver in the world. To reach that point, I need to be able to do this for a living so that I can focus on my continuing development.
What are your expectations for team Target Competition in 2019?
– To get the opportunity to drive for such a well-established team as Target Competition for 2019 feels very exciting. They have a lot of experience of international racing and when looking at their results the past few years it shows that it’s a team to count on for 2019.