Thed Björk loses chance to fight for first Volvo win due to oil leak

The Polestar Cyan Racing Volvo S60 of Thed Björk was in the best position for the team to-date in the first race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with the Swede right behind race leader Tiago Monteiro’s Honda at the end of lap one and closing before a technical issue sidelined him from the race.

Björk had passed the Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën of Mehdi Bennani after starting third on the grid, and was mounting a charge on Monteiro’s Honda before the warning lights came on in the Swede’s dashboard and he darted into the pit lane.

“I had the pace on Tiago and we were no doubt in with a shot for at least a podium finish,” said Björk. “Unfortunately the car started to leak oil and I had to retire. This is all just part of our learning process but the important thing is that I was in a fight for the lead in only our fifth race of this all-new programme.”

The team were able to repair the car so he could take the start of the second race, but had to relinquish his grid spot of seventh and dropped to the back of the grid as the team worked on the car outside of parc fermé.

Björk then worked his way through the order to finish eighth behind team-mate Fredrik Ekblom, though the two Volvos had a tough time getting ahead of the Ladas of Gabriele Tarquini and Hugo Valente.

“I just can’t thank the team enough, they gave me a really strong car,” added Björk. “Fast enough to set the third fastest lap of the race. This is something everyone in the team can be really proud of.”