Robert Dahlgren leaves Volvo and takes up non-racing role

Volvo factory driver Robert Dahlgren has left the Swedish manufacturer, and taken up a managerial position at a car dealership in the north of Sweden.

The 37-year-old finished as runner-up in the 2016 STCC with Polestar Cyan Racing, and made three appearances in the WTCC with the Volvo S60 TC1, with a best finish of seventh in the opening race at Qatar.

Dahlgren was considered as a top contender to join Volvo’s WTCC programme in 2017, as the team expands to run three cars, but he has now confirmed he will not be part of the team’s line-up. The Swedish squad are yet to announce any drivers for their second full season in the TC1 era.

“It has happened really fast,” said Dahlgren to norran.se. “I received a call and was invited to a meeting with Norrlands Bil. I got such an exciting offer on a position that I said yes right then and there. The gut feeling is that this is so right.

“Some might think that this is a big surprise. I have thought about this for a while and when the chance appeared, it felt right to take it.”

Dahlgren narrowly missed out on his first STCC drivers’ title in 2016 after a season-long battle with team-mate Richard Göransson, with the championship coming down to the last lap of the final race of the season. The Swede has raced for Volvo since 2004.

“I will definitely not quit all racing, but this has happened to fast that I need to let this sink in first,” added Dahlgren. “Then we will see what happens. It needs to suit everything else as well.”

“I don’t want to go into any details, but there have been unusually quite a few calls actually. Despite that, it has not official what is going to happen with my future. But at first, I just want to settle in my new job, then we will see what opportunities there are.”