Jan Nilsson
| Jan "Flash" Nilsson | |
|---|---|
Nilsson in 2010.
|
|
| Nationality |
 Swedish
|
| Born |
15 December 1960 Karlstad (Sweden) |
| Swedish Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 1996 |
| Current team | Flash Engineering |
| Car no. | 6 |
| Former teams |
Volvo Jan Nilsson Racing |
| Wins | 33 |
| Best finish | 1st in 1996, 1997 |
| Previous series | |
| Clio Cup Scandinavia Renault Spider Cup Porsche Carrera Cup Swedish F3 |
|
| Championship titles | |
| 1997, 1996 1994 1989 |
STCC Clio Cup Scandinavia Swedish F3 |
Jan "Flash" Nilsson (born 15 December 1960) is a Swedish racecar driver. He is most famous for his appearance in the Swedish Touring Car Championship, having appeared in all fourteen seasons and for being the second most victorious driver (two championship wins and 33 race wins).
Jan Nilsson started competing in Formula Ford in 1983 before moving on to Formula 3. He became the Swedish F3 champion in 1989 and drove Formula 3 in Japan and Mexico before moving to Clio Cup Scandinavia. He finished second in 1992 and moved up to Renault Spider Eurocup in 1993 after becoming champion in 1992. His first year in the Spider Eurocup saw him finishing in fourth place, as did the 1995 season. In 1996 he finished third, and the very same year he was the main force behind the creation of the Swedish Touring Car Championship.
Jan Nilsson's own team, Flash Engineering, became the official Volvo team. He took the title in 1996 and 1997, both in a Volvo 850. and was second in 1998, this time in a Volvo S40. In 1999 he was 5th, and 6th in 2000. Some critics meant that he had lost his pace, but he proved them wrong with becoming second overall in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons.
After a somewhat tough 2004 season (only one race win during the whole season) Jan Nilsson sold Flash Engineering. The team changed its name to Polestar Racing. Jan Nilsson started a new, smaller team from scratch for the 2005 season, also called Flash Engineering. The team ran one BMW 320i E46 for Jan Nilsson, finishing 9th overall in STCC 2005.
Flash Engineering signed on several new sponsors, the Swedish mailservice "Posten" among others, for 2006 and dramatically increased their available funds. They also signed on double Swedish champion Richard Göransson and former Flash Engineering Volvo driver Edward Sandström. Göransson and Nilsson drove new BMW 320si E90 cars for the 2006 season, while Sandström drove the older BMW 320i E46. Richard Göransson finished second in the championship while Nilsson was 9th again. Sandström was involved in a major accident early in the season in which the car was completely destroyed, and Sandström had to sit out the remaining races.
After a couple of struggling years in STCC, 2005 to 2007, Jan Nilsson was back winning races in 2008, 2009 and 2010. "Flash" had a hard fight with previous team mate Richard Göransson for the most overall victories in STCC. The both switched places several times between the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons, with Göransson finally taking the top spot with 34 versus 33 victories at the end of the 2010 season.
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