Photo: STCC

Thed Björk takes fifth win of 2015 to extend championship lead

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Thed Björk continues his charge at the top, winning the first Scandinavian Touring Car Championship race of the weekend at Karlskoga. The Volvo Polestar Racing driver started from pole, controlled the race from lap one to set a new lap record and extend his championship lead to 23 points ahead of team-mate Fredrik Ekblom.

Ekblom slotted in second behind Björk in the start, a position he held throughout the race.

The best start came from Dacia Dealer Team driver Mattias Andersson, who got the jump on the Saab of Team Tidö driver Richard Göransson into turn one. Andersson kept third, pulling away from the drivers behind him to take a solid podium finish.

Göransson kept fourth initially but ran wide, allowing WestCoast Racing BMW driver Fredrik Larsson to get past. Göransson made another mistake a couple of laps later, dropping to sixth position as Team Kia driver Erik Johansson went past to take a solid top five finish.

PWR Racing Team drivers Emma Kimiläinen and Daniel Haglöf claimed positions seven and eight while there was drama behind them.

Kia driver Kevin Aabol went on the inside of WCR/Sportpromotion BMW driver Erik Jonsson in turn six, resulting in contact and a spin for the two. Aabol was able to get back up and running while Jonsson had to pit twice, first to change a punctured tyre and a second time for a drive through penalty as he was deemed to have caused the incident.

The second race of the day starts at 16:15 CET.