Latest News
23 July 2010
Battle of the Brands ends in chaos
A welcome return to racing in the UK for Freddy Nordström was disrupted at Brands Hatch last weekend, when drama struck in both races.
After making the switch to the SEAT Eurocup Championship for the UK round last weekend (16-18th July), Freddy was keen to demonstrate his skills on a circuit he knows well. Arriving at the circuit Thursday evening to find a revamped SEAT Leon awaiting him kicked started the weekend how he wanted to, whilst his faith in the car was restored during the first on track action on Friday.
Freddy initially set the second fastest time of the practice session, before an incident and yellow flags brought about some confusion. With the session drawing to a close, there was no time to go back out to secure his time, leaving him in a respectable fourth.
Freddy’s early pace soon set the precedent for the weekend, and by the time qualifying arrived his confidence was echoed through his lap times. By the end of the session the SEAT specialist had secured a third place start for the opening race. “It was great to be back at the sharp end of the field,” said Freddy. “The car feels great, it’s the best start to a weekend we’ve had all year,” he added.
As the first race got underway Freddy held station in third place. As the race ticked towards half distance, Freddy was in a fierce battle with SEAT Eurocup front runner Eoin Murray, with the youngster forced to defend heavily.
Determined not to hand over his podium paying spot, Freddy battled hard to keep his position, until he was forced wide and into a spin. Before Freddy had time to compose himself to resume his race, he was hit by an unsuspecting Gabor Weber, another Eurocup regular. After crawling back to the pits with a tyre puncture looming and bodywork damage, Freddy was forced to retire. Despite his bad luck, he demonstrated yet again that he has the pace, matching the times of eventual winner Dan Welch.
Due to his non-finish in race one, Freddy was obligated to display another of his storming drives through the field after starting from 20th on the grid for race two. After making up a few places in the first two laps, his pace was haltered with the release of the safety car to recover an incident.
As the race got underway again Freddy had progressed from 20th to 11th, however a terrifying incident just one lap later, which saw the SEAT of Francisco Carvalho launch into the air and over the barrier brought out the red flag.
Due to the severity of the incident, and time constraints, the race was deemed to be over, despite only completing three actual racing laps.
In what became a somewhat strange weekend, Freddy showed his pace is just as strong as ever, and his optimism shone through in his actions. “It started off as such a good weekend. The car felt fantastic, the best it’s felt all season, and my pace was there as ever. It was just a shame both races ended as they did,” said Freddy.
“With regards Francisco’s accident, I came around the corner to see his car landing on its nose, which wasn’t a nice sight at all. It was a terrible accident and I’m just glad he’s ok.
“We’ve got a bit of a break now until the next race, and it’s a brand new track so everyone will be in the same position with their lack of knowledge about it. Fingers crossed the car stays like it is for the rest of the season, as it was great to drive at Brands Hatch,” he continued.
With the searing summer heat in Spain there are no races during August. Freddy will be back out on track with the SEAT Supercopa assemblage at the new Navarra circuit, the weekend of 25/26th September.
12 July 2010
Freddy comes back to Brands
SEAT motor racing ace, Freddy Nordström, will return to racing in the UK this coming
weekend (16-18th July), as he temporarily switches to the SEAT Eurocup Championship.
With three rounds of the 2010 Spanish SEAT Supercopa already done and dusted, Freddy has decided to echo his 2009 exploits by making a one-race swap to the British round of the Eurocup series. With a return to Brands Hatch Freddy is set to demonstrate his skills in front of a top crowd.
Regardless of contesting the Spanish series for the last two seasons, Freddy has made a few appearances at the infamous Kent-based circuit in recent months. July 2009 saw the Anglo-Swedish youngster contest the Eurocup series for the first time, while earlier this year he enjoyed a pre-season test with his new SEAT Leon. With a great deal of knowledge about Brands Hatch, he is sure to impress on his brief return to his local circuit.
After racing at Portimao, in the Algarve last weekend, Freddy’s uniquely coloured SEAT has since received some improvements, which is expected to relieve his anguish he’s suffered so far.
“I like Brands Hatch, it’s a great circuit with so much history, so I always look forward to racing there,” said Freddy. “It will be nice to return to a circuit that’s so familiar to me as well. We want to move on from the issues we’ve had so far this season, and keep looking forward. Fingers crossed Brands will be the weekend we can do this,” he added.
Portimao saw Freddy racing in front of the top teams and drivers in the touring car world, with the Supercopa series providing supporting action to the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Brands Hatch will be another opportunity for the 21 year old to show the WTCC assemblage what he can do behind the wheel, with the Eurocup sharing the weekend with the prestigious series.
“Being able to support a series like the World Touring Car Championship is a fantastic opportunity for me and the team, and to be able to do it twice is even better. Some of the best drivers in the sport combined with a legendary circuit will make for a top weekend. It can’t come soon enough for me,” continued Freddy.
Freddy will be in action over the course of the three days next weekend, with practice, qualifying and two races being spread over Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
7 July 2010
Third time lucky for Freddy
Another weekend in Spain saw Freddy’s 2010 SEAT Supercopa assault take shape, as his campaign finally got started in the right way at Portimao last weekend (3/4th July).
After two rounds of bad luck Freddy at last got to enjoy three race finishes, having completed a trio of outings at the Algarve-based circuit.
Friday saw the thirty-two car grid enjoy two free practice sessions, followed by qualifying. After suffering problems at Valencia and Jarama, Freddy was out to prove he meant business at Portimao; despite still experiencing a car glitch the young racer set the 14th fastest time in qualifying.
Ready for the first race, the grid took form. In true Freddy style, the first lap saw the Advent Motorsport ace rocket up to 12th place, making up a number of places from the off. By lap six the drama found him once more, when he was hit by another driver, causing damage to his SEAT Leon. Regardless of the damage, Freddy fought through to finish in 17th place.
With race two taking place immediately afterwards, Freddy lined up on the grid for the second time, this time starting 17th. Doing his best to drive through his apparent car problems, the youngster did his upmost to fight off his rivals, despite his SEAT being evidently low on pace when compared to others. After fighting as hard as he could he eventually took the chequered flag for the second time of the day, this time in 18th place.
The third and final race saw Freddy start from 18th on the grid, which he soon transformed as he again flew through the pack. His talent shone through once more, as he put to bed his car’s woes to finish a remarkable 14th.
After careful attention to his SEAT Leon it was deemed that the boost pressure was significantly lower than that of other cars, meaning he was a good deal lower on power than others. Considering his disadvantage it was another sterling performance from him, showing he refuses to be overcome by issues.
“It was good to start and finish all three races, but it was still frustrating to have yet more problems,” said Freddy. “The performance just wasn’t where I’d hoped it would be with the lack of pace, but we did what we could to work around it,” he added.
Freddy is now looking forward to a prominent meeting in just two weeks time, as he embarks on a slightly different journey. Contesting the British round of the SEAT Eurocup championship, he will return to the familiar Brands Hatch circuit, again supporting the prestigious World Touring Car Championship and Formula 2 series. “I can’t wait for Brands Hatch, it’s going to be a very exciting weekend for us,” he said. “Brands is a fantastic circuit and I’m looking forward to racing at one of the most renowned circuits in motor racing,” he added.
7 June 2010
More pain in Spain for Freddy
The weekend of 5/6th June saw Freddy Nordstrom make his return to the Jarama circuit, near Madrid, for round two of the Spanish SEAT Supercopa Championship. After difficulties at the first round in Valencia haltered his progress, Freddy was eager to kick off his season properly at Jarama.
With tough competition awaiting the 21 year old, Saturday's qualifying session saw just 1.4 seconds separating the top 20 drivers, with Freddy starting in 20th place after being slightly hampered on pace during the session.
Again proving what he is capable of behind the wheel, just one and a half laps into the first race Freddy already rocketed up to 14th place, progressing a remarkable six places in no time at all. Unfortunately, as in Valencia, Freddy's pace was soon short-lived as a lack of power meant he was unable to carry on.
As the grid lined up for the second race Freddy's weekend became that bit worse, when officials wouldn't allow him to leave the pitlane due to his lack of track time earlier in the day. Being absent from race two, after an already frustrating time, left the Advent Motorsport expert raring to go in the third race.
After the fitting of yet another new engine following Saturday's outing, Freddy was able to take to the grid for the final race of the weekend, however was forced to line up at the very back in 31st position. Determined not to let the disadvantage of starting from the back hinder his performance, Freddy again launched away at the start, making up another six places before clearing the pit straight.
As he approached the first corner, already up into 24th place, a knock at the side of his SEAT forced him off of the track. Once again his race was soon brought to an abrupt end before it had barely begun.
Looking back over another challenging weekend, Freddy said: "It's frustrating to have another bad weekend; I know we've got the pace to be running at the sharp end of the field, we've proved that in the short amount of track time we've had. With three new engines and only two rounds completed it's difficult for us all, but we've just got to keep looking forward.
"I'm staying positive and looking ahead to the next round at Portimao, where fingers crossed we'll finally have some good luck," he added.
The third round of Freddy's 2010 season is at the impressive Portimao circuit in Portugal, the weekend of 3.4th July. This event is an important meeting on the calendar, with the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and Formula 2 series also providing the entertainment.
Freddy will have a busy time in July, with an appearance in the Eurocup race at Brands Hatch the weekend of 16-18th July. After providing supporting action to the prestigious WTCC at the renowned venue in July 2009, the series will again be in attendance this year, with Freddy aiming to take his spot on the grid.
More information about Freddy's Eurocup exploits will be announced in due course.
26 April 2010
Freddy flies in Valencia but hampered by drama
The weekend of 16-18th April saw Freddy make the trip to Valencia for round one of the Spanish SEAT Supercopa Championship. Having enjoyed a successful pre-season test at Brands Hatch just one week before, Freddy was eager to get back behind the wheel.
Arriving at the circuit praying for a wet weekend the Advent Motorsport pilot partially got his wish, with the qualifying session and race three both being wet.
After suffering problems in the Friday test sessions and Saturday qualifying at the Spanish circuit, Freddy was optimistic for the first race, despite starting from the back of the pack. Regardless of having a brand new engine added to his SEAT Leon after qualifying, Freddy rocketed off the line as the lights went out in race one. Two storming laps saw the youngster launch from a 30th place grid start up to a strong 14th by lap two. Despite Freddy's obvious speed, mechanical gremlins struck, meaning he lost seven places, leaving him 21st at the chequered flag.
Unfortunately, such is the format of the championship that race two follows on from the first race, without anyone being able to work on the car. Starting 21st for race two didn't phase Freddy at all, and again in true Nordstrom style, as the lights diminished, he fired through the pack. Again his speed enabled him to muscle his way through the field, and by lap two he was lying 15th. Sadly, lap four saw him forced into retirement due to more mechanical issues.
Prior to the third race of the weekend, a new gearbox was installed to Freddy's SEAT, hoping for a more successful final outing. After overheating on the green flag lap, Freddy immediately came into the pits. He was obliged to sit in the pits for the first 10 laps, allowing the car to cool down, before being able to take part in the race.
Despite being a number of laps down, Freddy latched onto the leader and followed for four laps, indicating, yet again, the speed he had on his rivals.
A difficult weekend was not the way he wanted to start the season, however, pragmatic as ever, Freddy said: "It's been a really difficult weekend, I was really geared up for this round but it just hasn't gone to plan, at all. However, I can take some solace from this weekend, knowing that I have the speed to run at the sharp end of the pack.
"Providing we can be reliable at the next round in Jarama, the season should finally take off how we imagined it would. I'm looking forward to getting out there and hopefully racing at the front end," he added.
Freddy will be racing in Jarama on the weekend of 5/6th June, for round two of the championship.
9 April 2010
Freddy completes successful test
Friday 9th April saw Freddy, the Advent Motorsport team and his new team mate, Boris Miljevic, set up c
amp at Brands Hatch for a pre-season test. At the wheel of his new distinctive blue SEAT Leon Supercopa machine, Freddy enjoyed a successful test, getting some beneficial track time before his first round in Valencia on the weekend of 16-18th April.
Commenting after his test, Freddy said: "The test went well, it was great to get back out on track after a long winter off, and it was a good experience behind the wheel of the new car.
I'm looking forward to this season kicking off and can't wait to get out on track in Valencia in a couple weeks time." He added.
Freddy is due to be out on track in the SEAT Leon Supercopa at round one Valencia on Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th April.
30 March 2010
Support Freddy on Facebook
Do you want to show your support for Freddy? Now you can in more ways than one. Freddy now has his very own fan club page on Facebook, where you can join, check out his latest news, photos and even join in the latest discussions about his current season.
Freddy's fan club is new to the Facebook scene, yet he already has 228 members, which indicates the magnitude of his popularity. Become part of this right now by joining and showing your support for one of motor racing's rising stars.
To find Freddy on Facebook, just search for Freddy Nordstrom and you will be directed to his fan page.
22 February 2010
Happy 21st Birthday Freddy!
Freddy celebrates his 21st birthday today, Monday 22nd February. We hope you will join us all in wishing him a Happy Birthday!
14 January 2010
Freddy Returns to Spanish SEAT Supercopa
With the start of the 2010 motor racing season just around the corner announcements are flooding through the doors for the coming year. Freddy has announced that he will return to Spain during 2010, with a drive in the Spanish SEAT Supercopa series.
After debuting in the series in 2009 Freddy feels he has unfinished business in the championship, and will again contest the Spanish series with Advent Motorsport, with hopes of a prosperous year ahead.
Commenting on the announcement, Freddy said: "I'm very excited about competing in the Spanish series again this year. It is a fantastic championship. 2009 was quite a tough year, with not knowing the circuits for instance, but now having knowledge of the various circuits will make things a bit easier during 2010.
"I'm hopeful of a strong season, with some interesting events coming our way through the year," he continued.
Now Freddy's 2010 racing plans are in motion and you will, as ever, be able to keep up to date with his season via his website. Please keep checking back for updates as the season approaches.
2 January 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Freddy would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and wishes you all the best for the year ahead.
5 November 2009
NORDSTROM FINISHES THE SEASON WITH A POINTS SCORING DRIVE
Freddy Nordstrom Proves 13 Isn’t Unlucky For Some In Final SEAT Supercopa Round 
Freddy Nordstrom (Surrey, England & Sweden) finished the final race of the 2009 SEAT Supercopa Championship held in Barcelona, in a points scoring position after a tough debut season.
As usual the weekend consisted of 3 races, 2 sprint races that ran back to back on Saturday and a longer feature race on Sunday. It was part of a packed race weekend which included FIA Formula 2, European Formula 3, International GT and Mini Challenge.
The toughest qualifying session of the season saw the 37 car SEAT Supercopa class produce the closest times of the year. In fact less than a second covered places 6 to 26 on the grid! Freddy was in the thick of the action in 20th on the grid.
In the first of the weekend’s races Freddy was hit hard, causing severe damage to the car’s diffuser and rear floor scrapping on the ground. Somehow he battled on to finish a very credible 17th. With no repairs allowed before the immediate start of race 2, Freddy continued to battle with his car showing the scars of race one! Again he put a strong race given the circumstances to finish 19th.
The Advent Motorsport team worked hard before the third race of the weekend to repair the car. In the feature race Freddy was in storming mood to work his way up to 13th, which proved lucky as it scored Freddy his first points of the season.
“It has been a tough season” said Freddy afterwards. “The series and all the circuits were new to me. The grids are always full and many of the competitors have been in the series for several years, plus a number of Eurocup drivers visit selected rounds. It has been a tough learning curve, there’s been more than a few bumps and scrapes, but I’m already looking forward to next year and hopefully some more Eurocup action. My race in the Eurocup at Brands Hatch this year, in which I finished both races in the top six, has been a real highlight”.