Ekblom and Rudholm at WCR

Today what we reported about three days ago was confirmed – Fredrik Ekblom moves from Audi to West Coast Racing and BMW. Ekblom will partner up with Robin Rudholm as Duncan Huisman leaves the team. The team will run two 2007 spec’ BMW 320si E90. The main sponsor for the team is Tools and both drivers are very excited about the coming season.

“I have won the STCC twice and my goal is to win a third time. No one has done that before. I got a good offer from Dick (the team boss) and this feels new and fresh,” Ekblom said.

What is the major difference between Audi/KMS and BMW/WCR?

“KMS has direct support from Germany, those cars are the only ones in the entire world and there is no other help to get in the development work. But with BMW we have a database and cars that run over the entire world each week. I have driven around Knutstorp with understeer during four years, there is no need for that anymore,” Ekblom said with a smile.

Ekblom won the STCC-title for WCR back in 1998, driving a Super Touring BMW 320i E36. Then in 2000 he joined Audi/KMS. Team mate Robin Rudholm joined the WCR in 2006 and finished seventh in the championship.

“I would not trade this drive for anything else. Last year we opened strong, but we knew that the new BMW-model (E90) would be stronger as the season progressed. And it did, but now we have the right conditions to fight from start to finish and really push to get the title back to the team,” Rudholm said.

The team stands before their biggest launch on the STCC ever. The budget for the team is 16 million Swedish Kronor (160.000 €). The three new cars were bought from BMW before the WTCC Macau-finale and team boss Dick Jönsson-Wigroth is very happy.

“This is the biggest ever launch we have done on STCC. The championship is one of the best in the world and we can’t take back the title with one hand. This is serious and we are going for it,” Jönsson said.