Driver and team situation of STCC 2008
The Swedish Touring Car Championship season is still more than three months away and most of the teams still have a lot to do. The first race will be held at Knutstorp on April 20th. Currently there are many rumors regarding the who will drive where and which teams will be on the grid. TouringCarTimes have put together a summary over the current situation.
The confirmed:
WestCoast Racing – BMW 320si
Reigning champion Fredrik Ekblom was early on confirmed to continue with the team in 2008. Robin Rudholm will also stick with the team, driving the second BMW 320si E90 of 2007 specifications. The team has tried to sell at least one of their cars, but it looks like they will keep the same cars.
“It is a new year and new possibilities. We will have to work very hard to be in the top this year. We managed to win last season and we are going to fine tune it further to this season, I think we will be very competitive,” said Rudholm.
Flash Engineering – BMW 320si
2007 team champions will also continue with the same drivers – Richard Göransson and Janne “Flash” Nilsson. One of their cars have been sold and the other one is for sale. A 2008 specification car has been ordered to the team so far.
“I have big expectations for this season and I am hungry to drive the car again. It is too early to be too excited over the coming season, but we will be, rest assured,” said “Flash”.
Polestar Racing – Volvo C30
The team introduces two all new Volvo C30 for this season. The cars will be run with the same bio-ethanol engine as last year with the S60. Robert Dahlgren will continue driving while the other driver will be signed sometime in January. Drivers reported to be on the list are Jens Edman, Daniel Haglöf, Alexander Storckenfeldt, Tommy Rustad and Alx Danielsson.
“I am working very hard to be prepared for this season and to be able to meet the high expectations the team has got for me. I am very much looking forward to this season,” said Dahlgren.
Honda Racing – Honda Accord
The team is back running two cars again with regular Honda-man Tomas Engström and previous STCC champion Thed Björk. The team will run a pair of Honda Accords, keeping Engström’s from last year and getting one new from JAS.
“The STCC is harder than ever. Volvo are building a new car, BMW are always fast and now we have got SEAT on the scene. So we need a real upgrade to manage the hard competition. With this team we have the right conditions to head in to the fight for real,” said Engström.
IPS Motorsport – Peugeot 308
The Swedish Peugeot team ditches their big and old 407-model for the all new 308. Johan Sturesson will as usual be behind the wheel and the team is currently working very hard to prepare the new car for the coming season.
“We have a lot of testing ahead of us. It feels very nice to be on the grid with a new and modern car,” said Stureson.
Nordic Fine Art – SEAT Léon
19 year old Roger Eriksson will drive the SEAT Léon that won the Danish championship in the hands of Michel Nykjaer last year. Eriksson drove an BMW 320i E46 last season and is looking forward to drive the quick SEAT.
“This is a great opportunity for me that I am very happy about. I will now have the right tools with a winners car and a good team. Now it will be up to me to show that I can do,” said Eriksson.
MA GP – Alfa Romeo 156
Mattias Andersson recently confirmed that he will continue driving his privately owned Alfa Romeo 156. The car will be upgraded for this season and Andersson is aiming for better results.
“The goal is not to loose anything from 2007. It will not be easy, but realistically I think we belonged around fifth, sixth position,” said Andersson.
The likely:
Opel Team Sweden – Opel Astra
There are a lot of questionmarks regarding the Swedish Opel team and their programme for 2008. The team has announced that they want Tommy Rustad to continue with them, driving the blue Astra.
“We still have some question marks left. We want to have Rustad behind the wheel. We don’t know yet how things are going with Rustad’s rallycross plans, but of course we hope that he will go STCC again,” said Warnestad.
But recent information indicates that the Opel team could be left out of the series this year if they do not manage to find a driver for their car soon.
Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden – Chevrolet Lacetti:
The Swedish Chevrolet team is another team on the hunt for a driver. Team owner and 2007 driver Nicklas Karlsson has stated that they are negotiating with a couple of drivers.
“We have a couple of drivers that we are having a dialog with and we feel pretty confident at the moment,” said Karlsson.
The team was recently present in Spain where the WTCC Chevrolet team tested. Rumors has it that Karlsson could take the wheel of the Lacetti once again while David Björk also has been mentioned.
The unconfirmed:
Artman Racing – Honda Accord
The Estonian team hosted one round of the STCC 2007 but has indicated to make an full assault on the STCC 2008. On their website the team is advertising for mechanics to their STCC-project. The team is supposed to run two Honda Accord’s for their drivers Alexander Lvov and Andrey Smetsky.
Team Sturup Raceway – SEAT Léon
The Danish SEAT-team have confirmed that they are looking to move from the DTC to STCC in 2008. The team ran two SEAT Léon last season for Carsten Leveau and Gunnar Kristensen.
“Nothing is settled yet. We have two STCC races at our home track (Sturup) and we have seen what the STCC is in a completely different way this year. A move to STCC is of course an interesting alternative,” said team owner Schleimann.
Tobias Johansson – ?
The previous Mercedes-driver has confirmed that he is looking to buy a ready winners car for STCC 2008. One of his Mercedes has been sold to Germany, while the other one is for sale. Rumor has it that Johansson could be behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Vectra from the BTCC.
Elgh Motorsport – Carl Rosenblad
The team has stated that they are interested in taking part in the whole STCC 2008 season with their driver Carl Rosenblad. But recent information indicates that the team instead will do selected races in STCC and WTCC this season if the budget is there.
The rumored:
We can expect a number of privateer drivers on the grid, while none of them have confirmed anything yet. Champion Joakim Frid has stated that he is on the hunt for a new car for this season. Tobias Tegelby has stated the same and has been reported to be on the hunt for a BMW 320si E90. Viktor Huggare and Ronnie Brandt are both reported to be working on a program for 2008.
When the Audi team Kristoffersson Motorsport lost their Audi-contract three top cars quickly disappeared. At first the team was reported to be looking for funds to run the cars privately, something that is looking unlikely now. We have received reports that one of the Audis could make its way to the 2008 grid in the hands of a privateer driver. The KMS team is reported to be on the way to another series.
The numbers:
This is how the current situation looks if we put them in to a provisional entry list. Please keep in mind that this situation changes quickly.
Confirmed:
Fredrik Ekblom – BMW 320si – WestCoast Racing
Robin Rudholm – BMW 320si – WestCoast Racing
Richard Göransson – BMW 320si – Flash Engineering
Jan Nilsson – BMW 320si – Flash Engineering
Tomas Engström – Honda Accord – Honda Racing
Thed Björk – Honda Accord – Honda Racing
Robert Dahlgren – Volvo C30 – Polestar Racing
TBA – Volvo C30 – Polestar Racing
Johan Stureson – Peugeot 308 – IPS Motorsport
Roger Eriksson – SEAT Léon – Nordic Fine Art
Mattias Andersson – Alfa Romeo 156 – MA GP
Unconfirmed
TBA – Opel Astra – Opel Team Sweden
TBA – Chevrolet Lacetti – Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden
Andrey Smetsky – Honda Accord – Artman Racing
Alexander Lvov – Honda Accord – Artman Racing
Carsten Leveau – SEAT Léon – Team Sturup Raceway
Gunnar Kristensen – SEAT Léon – Team Sturup Raceway
Tobias Johansson – TBA
Carl Rosenblad – BMW 320si – Elgh Motorsport
Joakim Frid – TBA – Team Euromaster
Tobias Tegelby – TBA – Tysslinge Racing
Ronnie Brandt – TBA – Team Mälarpower
