Photo: WTCC Media

No grip for Thed Björk in Marrakech main race

Thed Björk endured a very tough weekend for Polestar Cyan Racing at Marrakech, Morocco, as the Volvo driver made contact with Lada’s Nicky Catsburg in the first race and then dropped down the order to the extent he was lapped by the end of the main race.

“The car was very difficult to drive,” explained the Swede to TouringCarTimes. “I had very low grip and just couldn’t defend my position. I told my engineer I’d just drive the car home in one piece. We still don’t know why we had such a good performance in the wet in Hungary and it was so bad here. As a driver, if you ask me, I would blame the car, but every driver does that. We will learn, we were not in the sweet spot at all.”

When asked where he thinks he would have ended up in the opening race without the contact, Björk said: “I think I could have made it to the podium, or maybe fourth, depending on what the Citroëns did. Personally I think Tom Coronel has done a great job defending from them. I was there with them, the car felt really good and I held the fastest lap for most of the race until Hugo Valente went quicker. It still shows we had good pace, but I believe it could have been a good result.”

Looking on to the Race of Germany, the Swede is very experienced at the iconic Nordschleife and looks forward to driving it: “I have a lot of experience at the Nordschleife, it is the best track in the world and I absolutely love it, I’m looking forward to driving at the Nordschleife, just for the pleasure of it.”

As the Volvo engine seems to be one of the most powerful on the grid, Björk admits it may help, but he will approach the weekend very cautiously: “It will be a factor, but it is also a very demanding and unforgiving track. I have a lot of respect towards the track, so I will not go out and overdrive, I will go out and see where we are and keep improving. Hopefully we can match the Citroëns, though.”

Björk’s best season result remains fourth at the Hungaroring in the main race.