Michel Nykjaer returns to the WTCC with NIKA Racing
Michel Nykjaer will return to the World Touring Car Championship this year, driving NIKA Racing's Chevrolet
NIKA announced last week that, following a one-off exploratory outing at Monza in 2012 with Rickard Rydell, it will step up for a full campaign in the WTCC with a single Cruze 1.6LT.
Danish driver Nykjaer finished third in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship in a NIKA-run works Chevrolet last year.
"I'm thrilled to return to action in the WTCC in 2013, and particularly to do so together with NIKA Racing," he said.
"We have gained huge respect for each other in our STCC programme, and we are definitely ready to take this step.
"The WTCC is incredibly competitive, but I think we have some important ingredients in place for a strong campaign.
"I know the majority of the circuits on the calendar, and the Chevrolet Cruze has been the car to beat over the past few years. I'm immensely motivated to get going."
Nykjaer, 33, has won two Danish Touring Car titles and two European Touring Car Cups. He contested two full WTCC seasons in a SUNRED SEAT, finishing second in the Yokohama Trophy in 2011 and 10th in the overall standings.
Last season he made a one-off appearance in a Bamboo-Engineering Chevrolet at Curitiba, taking a class victory and a runner-up spot.
Also named on a 25-car FIA entry list for the WTCC on Friday was, as expected, Tom Boardman. The Briton is set to continue with his family-run team, Special Tuning Racing.
2013 WTCC line-up so far: Team Car Driver(s) Honda (JAS) Honda Civic WTCC Gabriele Tarquini/Tiago Monteiro Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC Norbert Michelisz Lada (Russian Bears) Lada Granta James Thompson/Aleksei Dudukalo Bamboo-Engineering Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T James Nash/Alex MacDowall RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Yvan Muller/Tom Chilton NIKA Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T Michel Nykjaer ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC Tom Coronel/Darryl O'Young Proteam Motorsport BMW 320 TC Mehdi Bennani Team Engstler BMW 320 TC Franz Engstler/Charles Ng Wiechers Sport BMW 320 TC Fredy Barth PB Motorsport BMW 320 TC Stefano d'Aste ANOME BMW 320 TC Jean-Philippe Dayraut* Munnich Motorsport SEAT Leon WTCC R Huff/M Basseng/R Munnich SUNRED Engineering SEAT Leon WTCC Pepe Oriola Special Tuning SEAT Leon WTCC Tom Boardman* Campos Racing SEAT Leon WTCC Fernando Monje/Hugo Valente
*Subject to FIA confirmation
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