STCC gears up for first ever mid-week twilight race
The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship heads to its first ever mid-week twilight race tomorrow on the short circuit of Mantorp Park.
The last time the STCC field raced on the short circuit, 1950 meters, of Mantorp was in 2000 when Fredrik Ekblom won the second race behind the wheel of a Super Touring specification Audi A4 Quattro.
”I like the short version of Mantorp, it is an intensive layout that will provide a lot of action to the spectators. I remember one of the battles I had there with Mattias Ekström, it was great fun. I have a good feeling ahead of the weekend and I need to gain points on my team mate Thed,” said Ekblom.
Ekblom dropped to third in the championship after the previous race in Anderstorp when Volvo Polestar Racing colleague Thed Björk won the first race and BMW rival Fredrik Larsson won the second.
”I am ready to challenge the Volvo drivers and it is not impossible. I think we have had good speed in all races this year. We have not been able to get the qualifying sessions right but we have done our homework. We need to get the very last bit out of the car in order to challenge Thed and Volvo straight away,” said Larsson.
Björk heads the drivers’ championship 30 points ahead of Larsson and 32 points ahead of Ekblom and the double reigning champion is confident.
”My goal is to continue my feeling and the results from the first two races this season. And while I am ahead in the championship, it is far too early to make anything out of it. I am going to continue to push for victories,” said Björk.
Closest to the top trio of the championship is Dacia Dealer Team driver Mattias Andersson who had a tough weekend at Anderstorp with two seventh places, dropping him to 62 points behind Björk.
”Our modest result in Anderstorp was a result of me and the team not getting the driving nor the setup right. But we are back on track now. We want to be on the podium and at least one finish in the top three is our goal for Thursday,” said Andersson.
Another driver with a modest weekend in Anderstorp was four-time STCC champion Richard Göransson who dropped to sixth in the championship, despite claiming pole position for the first race at Anderstorp.
”I actually drove my very first STCC race at Mantorp in 1998. It is an intense track layout that for sure is going to offer drama, just like in the old days. We were on pole at Anderstorp and the goal is to repeat that on Thursday,” said Göransson.
While Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte of Volvo Polestar Racing is missing from the field this weekend due to his honeymoon, Team Kia is back to three cars as Emelie Liljeström joins regular drivers Erik Johansson and Kevin Aabol.
”The problems we had at Anderstorp has made me really motivated to score a strong result at Mantorp. I am hoping for my first podium finish and in order to reach that I need to qualify well. I know that I have race pace, I need to be fast in qualifying as well,” said Aabol.
The STCC day at Mantorp starts at 11:00 CET with a first test. The first race of the day starts 19:00 with the second race starting at 21:15.
2015 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship 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 – Sportpromotion – BMW SR
#8 – Roger Samuelsson – Team Tidö – Saab 9-3
#9 – Kevin Aabol – Team Kia – Kia Optima
#10 – Erik Johansson – 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
#37 – Daniel Haglöf – PWR Racing – Saab 9-3
#93 – Emma Kimiläinen – PWR Racing – Saab 9-3
#95 – Emelie Liljeström – Team Kia – Kia Optima*
# – Rasmus Mårthen – Team Kia – Kia Optima*
* = Not entered for full season
STCC Mantorp Timetable
Thursday 25th June
11:00–11:30 Test 1
13:20–13:50 Test 2
16:06–16:20 Q1
16:25–16:45 Q2
19:00–19:25 Race 1
21:15–21:40 Race 2
All times are in CET.
