Emma Kimiläinen says Skövde race will be more of a test for new PWR SEAT

The fresh out-of-the-box SEAT León of PWR Racing is turning its first competitive laps in anger at the Skövde airport circuit this weekend, but the three cars of Daniel Haglöf, Johan Kristoffersson and Emma Kimiläinen have already had a few technical dramas through the first practice sessions, with the Finnish driver reporting that the season opener will be more of a test for the PWR Racing team this weekend.

The new León is racing for the first time this weekend, with 2012 champion Kristoffersson having set the best times for PWR in testing, going fifth fastest in both sessions, while Haglöf was sixth in Test 1 and unable to take part in Test 2, with Kimiläinen eighth in both sessions.

“I’ve only driven five laps before today, and we’ve been having technical problems with the brakes, so it’s been kind of like a shakedown for us right now,” said Kimiläinen to TouringCarTimes.

“Everything’s happened really late this year, so I’m so happy that we have three cars here. (The team) have done so much work in the last few weeks, working 24/7 to get the three cars on the grid, so to be here on the grid is a victory in itself.”

Teething problems for the new SEAT León STCC car mean the team are chasing reliability over results so far on Saturday, with expectations for the weekend being kept realistic.

“Right now, it’s a work in progress,” added Kimiläinen. “It’s not nice that it’s the first race of the season and it’s a test for us, but that’s how it is, but I think we’re getting closer and we’ll close the gap more as we do more races.”