Fredrik Ekblom secures STCC title

In a dramatic STCC-race at the twisty Sturup Raceway BMW-driver Fredrik Ekblom secured the championship, and became the first driver with three STCC-titles. He secured the title in style, winning the race after title rivals Richard Göransson was penalised for an accident in the pits and Robert Dahlgren didn’t manage better than fifth place.

Peugeot driver Johan Sturesson built a gap from pole position early on in the race as second placed Thed Björk in the Audi fought with BMW-drivers Fredrik Ekblom and Richard Göransson.

Richard Göransson was very aggressive in his BMW and planned a great overtaking move on title rival Ekblom almost over the whole lap. He then quickly passed Thed Björk and set off in pursuit of Johan Sturesson.

It all came to nothing in the pits however. Göransson pitted from the lead. The team released him from the pit box a bit too early and Göransson collided with Kristofferssons Audi who was coming in. That earned Göransson a stop and go-penalty that ruined his title chances. Ekblom was right behind Göransson in the pits and could just avoid the stalled Audi and follow Göransson out of the pits.

Johan Sturesson also lost his chance to win the race in the pits where a wheel nut cost him several seconds. That opened up the track for Thed Björk who was leading after the pitstops. Unfortunately for the Audi driver lost all the gears and retired.

Fredrik Ekblom could then inherit the lead and he secured both the win and his third STCC-title with one race to go. He drove a mistake free race and was overjoyed afterwards.
– This is an amazing feeling, he said. I never believed I would secure the championship here and with a win but the dream became true. I told the team to just relax, take a deep breath and have a fun race today and that was perfect. I haven’t quite realized yet that I won.

Audidriver Frank Stippler finished second in a race where he drove strong from eight on the grid. He was happy with his race and congratulated Fredrik afterwards.
– I’m very happy with a second place today. We made too many mistakes early in the season and was out of contention for the title. Fredrik deserved the title, he has driven a quite perfect season.

One of the big surprises of the way was Peugeotdriver Johan Sturesson who took pole, fastest lap in the race and only lost the race when a wheel got stuck in the pit stop. After a season full of disasters he was very happy to be back on the podium with a strong performance.
– It’s good to be back again. We were set for a perfect day but lost a lot of time in the pits. Then Frank was a bit tough when he passed me but I’m nevertheless pleased with third place.

Volvodriver Robert Dahlgren lost his chance to keep his title hopes alive already in qualifying. due to traffic he couldn’t managed better than 11:th on the twisty and tight Sturup Raceway. That meant a long hard race for him, where he managed to climb to fifth – one place short of what was needed to keep the championship alive to the final round.