2006 season forecast
The STCC season starts on Sunday. Many say that this could be the best season ever and that we have the best line up ever on the grid. I won’t agree totally with that, there is still a bit left to the grand days of the Super Touring-era. But we do have a strong field, the best ever of the S2000-years.
There are many new things for this year. The main thing is the new race format. There will be one 40 minute race each weekend which includes a pitstop where two tyres must be changed. And the pitstop is certainly interestning and has been a hot subject for discussion during the pre-season. It has been said that one of the main reasons that pitstops are introduced is to make the races more exciting for the TV-audience.
The source of inspiration is said to be DTM, with their very quick and exciting pitstops. STCC used to have pitstops during last Super Touring-years. But there is one big difference – the teams now have to change five wheel bolts per wheel instead of one, as in DTM or during the Super Touring days.
To change five wheel bolts takes alot of time but mainly leaves the door open for many time costing mistakes. The teams that have practiced the most on pitstop strategy will have a great advantage. Dropping one wheel bolt is time costing enough. Dropping five wheel bolts won’t send the driver a couple of places back, but to the back of the field.
Speculations have been made that teams will introduce special tactics and constructions for the machines used to change the tyres. But this stands in the rule book for STCC regarding the pitstop:
“Machines used to change tyres for the manditory pitstop must be of standard model and commercially avalible.”
No room for special machines there. But a couple of teams have reported that they have special tactics up their sleeves.
Who are the title contenders?
Just as in WTCC, the BMW-mafia is strong. We have Richard Göransson, Janne “Flash” Nilsson, Edward Sanström, Calle Rosenblad, Duncan Huisman and Robin Rudholm in potent BMW’s. Three of those cars are brand new BMW 320si E90 and are, on the paper at least, very strong for the title race.
But as quick as they might be, the fact is still there that both the two Flash Engineering cars and Rosenblad’s BMW are very new. They have only done a couple of test days and most certainly no race runs. The cars have potential to be the quickest in the field, but the question is if the teams will have enough time to sort them out.
Rudholm and Huismans older BMW 320i E46 might not be as quick, but the stability and experience from previous seasons is a strong card.
What about the FWD-mafia then?
Tomas Engström is certainly one of the strongest title contenders. Engström has topped several tests and the Honda is looking very strong. If he manages to stay out of all technical troubles and troubles on the track from last year, the chance is there for him.
The Audi-team have also shown good performance during the preseason tests. Last season Audi lacked the pace to stay in the top of the field. But for this year the cars have been rebuilt and a new engine introduced. Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk will for sure be right there in the top presupposed that Audi keep their strong form from the pre-season.
The two Peugeot’s of Johan Stureson and Stefan Söderberg are dark horses for this year. The speed is there in both the Peugeot and Peugeot number one driver Stureson. But the team has had problems during the season with many different issues that have stopped them from showing good pace during the tests.
The same goes for the Volvo-team with Robert Dahlgren and Alexander Storckenfeldt. The Volvo-team have new engines for this year which have shown to be very fragile. At the Mantorp test both Dahlgren and Storckenfeldt were towed back in the pits with oil leaking from the engines.
Both Peugeot and Volvo are contenders for wins, but the title race looks at the moment a bit hard taking the pre season problems in mind.
The Opel of Niklas Karlsson is another driver/car that is hard to predict. The Opel is looking very strong on paper and has shown good performance during the tests despite being brand new. But will the team get a totally new car to the same performance as the BMW’s, Audi’s and Honda’s, which are on top? Remains to be seen.
A team which isn’t up for victories is the Mercedes-team. They are only on their second year with a totally new car and engine. And the team is holding a comparatively small budget. But driver Tobias Johansson was very satisfied with their testing progress and will be interestning to watch during the season.
To summarise – these are my three title contenders:
1 – Carl Rosenblad – Holding high pace during the pre-season tests. Only one car for the team to focus on compared to Flash Engineering with three cars of which two are brand new. Rosenblad carries alot of experience.
2 – Fredrik Ekblom – Audi seem to have the right package this year. The team shines of confidence and Ekblom is one of the best drivers in the field.
3 – Tomas Engström – Engström has been so close for several years. This year he has a upgraded Accord and only one car for the team to focus on. The performance during the pre-season tests speaks for it self.
That was alot of speculation and predictions. The real deal starts this weekend! Stay tuned to TouringCarTimes during the entire weekend as we will be on the scene from start to finish.
