Fast and decisive Falkenberg next up for STCC

Falkenberg, the fastest circuit in Sweden, is next up for the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, marking the half-way point of the championship. The leading duo of Fredrik Larsson and Thed Björk are close in the championship, separated by just five points, and this weekend could turn decisive as this year’s championship only consists of six race weekends with two heats each.

BMW Dealer Team WestCoast Racing’s Larsson ought to be considered as favorite for the weekend as it is his and the team’s home track. He was blisteringly fast in qualifying last year, but had to retire from the first race and is out for revenge this year.

Another driver looking for revenge at Falkenberg is Björk who also retired from the race last year due to technical problems. Björk and Larsson have been the pace setting drivers so far this year, with one exception: Fredrik Ekblom.

The 2012 TTA champion has shown impressive form in the first two race weekends, claiming both pole and victory in the season opener at Knutstorp. The previous race weekend in Gothenburg on the other hand saw Ekblom retiring from the second race on the warm up lap due to a broken gearbox, which meant that Ekblom lost the championship lead to Larsson and Björk.

But the trio of Larsson, Björk and Ekblom are far from the only drivers to expect in the top fight. Saab driver Richard Göransson has despite some wild incidents and penalties managed to cling on to the top in the championship, just six points behind Ekblom in fourth.

Dacia Dealer Team driver Mattias Andersson has been very consistent in the first four races of 2014 as well and holds fifth in the championship with fifth as his lowest result so far. The Swede has stated ahead of the weekend that he is aiming for a new podium finish, he claimed his first in Gothenburg four weeks ago, this weekend.

Another manufacturer not to forget is Team Kia with drivers Mattias Lindberg, Linus Ohlsson and Andreas Wernersson. Former Volvo driver Ohlsson is aiming to win in Falkenberg, the very track where he scored his first victory of last year.

Emma Kimiläinen is back in Falkenberg with a new chassis after her big crash in Gothenburg which meant a write-off of her old chassis. The Finn has shown impressive form in qualifying but has so far not managed to turn it into race result. Could Falkenberg be her turning point of the season?

The race weekend on the 1.8 kilometer circuit starts on Friday with testing and qualifying, followed by two races of 25 minutes each on Saturday.

2014 STCC Falkenberg Entry List

No – Driver – Team Name – Car
1 – Thed Björk – Volvo Polestar Racing – Volvo S60
3 – Richard Göransson – Team Tidö – Saab 9-3
4 – Fredrik Larsson – WestCoast Racing – BMW SR
6 – Erik Jonsson – WestCoast Racing – BMW SR
7 – Philip Forsman – WestCoast Racing – BMW SR
8 – Roger Samuelsson – Team Tidö – Saab 9-3
9 – Mattias Lindberg – Team Kia – Kia Optima
10 – Andreas Wernersson – Team Kia – Kia Optima
11 – Fredrik Ekblom – Volvo Polestar Racing – Volvo S60
13 – Carl Philip Bernadotte – Volvo Polestar Racing – Volvo S60
20 – Mattias Andersson – Dacia Dealer Team – Dacia SE
93 – Emma Kimiläinen – PWR Racing – Saab 9-3
95 – Linus Ohlsson – Team Kia – Kia Optima

2014 STCC Falkenberg Timetable (CET)

Friday 11th July
11:45 – Test 1 (30 min)
13:15 – Test 2 (30 min)
16:35 – Q1 (15 min)
16:55 – Q2 (20 min)

Saturday 12th July
12:40 – Race 1 (25 min)
15:30 – Race 2 (25 min)