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Knutstorp Testing

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Today the STCC circus completed their third official test of 2006. Knutstorp in south of Sweden was the scene for the action today and almost all teams were present. The weather is quite greasy today, but the track stayed dry until about 14.00 when rain started to fall.

Up until then Tomas Engström was, again, quickest of them all in his Honda Accord.

– It feels really good. We have much left to test but we have things under control, Engström said to Sportinformation.com.

While Engström was happy with his pace, Peugeot-driver Johan Stureson had a black day. Stureson was drving slowly on the straight during a photo-shoot. During this Duncan Huisman crashed in to his Peugeot. The damage was so bad that the Peugeot-team will have to repair the chassis until next test.

– It is heavy right now. We’ve had problems with my engine during the two previous tests combined with some smaller problems. It is starting to get better now, but we are loosing important track time right now. But just last night our second car arrived, so we will complete a shake down with it, Stureson said.

Another driver with alot of testing to do is Niklas Karlsson in the all-new Opel Astra GTC. Karlsson drove a few laps before going in to the pits and in to the team tent. The team then made a planned engine change.

– It is slowly going in the right direction. The car is completely new and there are many things that we have to adjust, but I am convinced that it is a really good concept, Karlsson said.

Second fastest of the day is Robin Rudholm in the WestCoastRacing BMW 320i. Rudholm out paced his team mate Huisman, who was stopped by his accident with Stureson. There are no reports on the damage of Huismans car.

Audi-drivers Fredrik Ekblom, Tommy Kristoffersson and Thed Björk took third, fourth and fifth positions. Team boss Kristoffersson was driving the completely new Audi A4.

– It’s going like we thought it would. It is a special feeling to drive a completely new car. The car is almost identical with the other Audi’s, but it is still a special feeling, Kristoffersson said.

Another completely new car is the BMW 320si E90, driven by Carl Rosenblad. The team arrived at the first test at Anderstorp with the car virtually untested. But to this test the team has advanced.

– It has been alot of work, but now the car is working technically so we can focus on starting the work on setups. The new BMW is completely different compared to the old as the engine is producing less torque. That means that I must step on the gass in the middle of corners, Rosenblad said.

Volvo-driver Robert Dahlgren was sixth fastest, three tenths off the best time.

– I had problems with the steering. So I haven’t done that many laps yet. Things feel good but I need more laps to see where we really are, Dahlgren said.

The Mercedes-team were present today. One car was there, the one that Hans Simonsson will drive, shared by both drivers. The new engine is not ready yet and the team expects the new one to produce more power. The best time was 1:03.737 for Hans Simonsson.

Flash Engineering was not present at this test. The new BMW E90’s are still under preparation and the team is expected to show up at the next test.

Next test is at Mantorp on 5:th May.

Times from Sportinformation: