Rasmus Mårthen takes shock pole for Ford at Falkenberg
Rasmus Mårthen shocked the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship field by claiming his maiden STCC pole position in the Q2 qualifying session at Falkenberg, the first pole for Ford in 16 years.
The Brovallen Design driver lapped the short and fast circuit in 43.939, beating Flash Engineering driver Linus Ohlsson by just 0.028 seconds.
Volvo driver Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte was partly responsible for the overall result as he went off track on his single Q2 super pole lap and dragged up gravel all over the track when completing his lap. The drivers after him were far from the times set previously during the day, seeing Richard Göransson only managing 44.431 and third position, 1.3 seconds off his Q1 time.
Championship leader Robert Dahlgren was fourth fastest with the SEAT duo of Johan Kristoffersson and Emma Kimiläinen claiming positions five and six.
Polestar Cyan Racing’s Göransson claimed a vital pole in the Q1 session, meaning 25 points to the championship and gaining seven points on team mate and title rival Dahlgren who was second fastest. The result has brought Göransson to just three points from Dahlgren in the drivers’ championship.
The SEAT Dealer Team PWR Racing duo of Kristoffersson and Kimiläinen were close in Q1, just as in Q2, claiming fourth and fifth. Things were worse for team mate Daniel Haglöf who brought out the red flags after a crash in Q1, missing the remainder of the session and will start last for both races.
Bernadotte secured his best qualifying result of the year with sixth in Q1.
The reversed Q1 results for the second race means pole for Flash Engineering driver Reuben Kressner with Dacia Dealer Team driver Mattias Andersson in second.
The qualifying session was held in dry and overcast conditions, but with rain forecasted all day for the two races tomorrow.
