EN: Sami-Matti Trogen's third season as a professional in motorsport starts – "We can win!"

Sami-Matti Trogen has fulfilled his dream. The youngster, who jumped to the big world from his hometown Lohja, starts his third season as a motorsport professional in the Walkenhorst Motorsport's BMW-team. The 19-year-old's journey to become a professional started as a 10-year-old in the Finnish Rallycross Championship's Crosskart-class and continued from there throughout rallycross and formula to Nürburgring's, as known as Green Hell's, NLS Series.

Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) starts this weekend. There will be eight races during the season and it finishes at the end of October. During the season there will also be a 24-hour race, which is one of the most anticipated weekends of the year. The goal of Trogen, who drives the nearly 600 horsepower GT3-class BMW M4, is to get up to the highest podium with his team.

- Our goal this season is to fight for top positions. Maybe not at the start of the season, but when the summer goes by and we make progress, I believe we can race for win. We have a great team, which includes me, experienced and fast Norwegian Christian Krognes and former F1 test driver Spanish-Austrian Andy Soucek.

The first test of the season will be held this Friday and the race is on Saturday. The schedule is tight, especially as this season's car is new. The previous BMW M6 with a V8 engine has been switched to a M4 with a V6 engine.

- Everyone else is in the same situation, you just can't go to Nordschleife and drive. The first races of the season work as a good test and the main goal is in the 24-hour race, which is one of the biggest races in the GT-car world. It also reflects in the investment, Walkenhorst's team hasn't previously succeeded in the 24-hour race, but I believe that now we have a chance to fight for a podium, hopefully even for a win. The car is fantastic, I can't wait to get in the wheel of it. The new M4 doesn't have a lot in common with the previous car, for example the clutch is similar as in Formula 1 so it works with the flaps in the steering wheel. Also, the rear-view mirror is virtual and shows you the distance to cars behind you, et cetera other great things.

Trogen now drives in the so-called number one team, so he starts the season with confidence.

- It's a great feeling to get to race again after a long time, my motivation is high as I'm now driving in the team's best car. I know we are capable of strong results this season, Trogen ends.