Finishing race 13 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in second place was enough for the youngster from the Konrad Motorsport squad to also secure the championship title. This makes him the first Norwegian to be crowned champion of the German one-make race series.
Consistency was the main reason for Olsen’s success. Despite facing fierce competition from Christopher Zöchling, the two seasoned Porsche specialists Michael Ammermüller and Christian Engelhart, but particularly from Nick Yelloly, the new champion netted eleven podium results from 13 races. Even at the season-opening double-header at Hockenheim, Olsen appeared unconcerned. The racer from the Norwegian town of Våler promptly pocketed victory at both races and settled in at the top of the points’ table. Over the entire race season, Olsen never once budged from the lead spot. And when vice-champion Yelloly closed the gap in the lead-up to the season finale at Hockenheim, Olsen never lost his cool. With a total of six wins, the 21-year-old was crowned champion on the Hockenheimring.
Already as a youngster, Olsen opted for the fast lane. At the age of six, he sat in a kart for the first time; in 2011 he was crowned “Rookie of the Year” in the World Series Karting Final Cup. One year later he secured the title in the German Karting Championship (KF2). 2013 saw him advance into single-seater racing. The greatest success so far for the Fredrikstad-born racing driver was winning the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup in 2014.
In the autumn of 2015, Olsen – whose idol is the three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna – fulfilled a dream. In a multi-tiered selection process, he competed against more than one hundred candidates and was chosen by Porsche Motorsport to become a Porsche Junior. From 2016, Olsen tackled the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, easily making the transition from a single-seater to the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. During his first year, Olsen won the Rookie Championship and finished third overall. The 2017 title now takes pride of place in his impressive motor racing résumé, as his biggest achievement so far.
Although Olsen is used to racing alone, he doesn’t regard himself as a lone wolf. Whether it’s inspecting the racetrack, analysing a race or having a personal chat – close relationships are important to him, especially with driver coach Sascha Maassen. “As a former Porsche works driver, Sascha had helped me enormously by sharing his experiences. And I value him as a person. I can talk to him about anything,” says Olsen.
Olsen describes himself as a family man. His parents have supported him on his path to becoming a professional racing driver and they often accompany him to his races. And his partner Sanne Sofie is always by his side. “She gives me support and we do a lot together. She’s a rider so we’re often outdoors with horses.” But at the end of the day, Olsen still prefers a brawnier type of horsepower. His biggest goal: To compete for Porsche in international GT sport – so that in the future he can experience many more great moments when crossing the finish line.
