Duncan Huisman ranks the title contenders

The Swedish Touring Car Championship season of 2009 is nearing its end. TouringCarTimes contacted previous STCC racer and legendary touring car racer Duncan Huisman for his ranking of the title contenders.
“The STCC season of 2009 has been one of the toughest so far!” said Huisman to TouringCarTimes.

Huisman raced for WestCoast Racing in 2006, with Robin Rudholm as team mate, and finished third in the championship.

“I have a lot of good memories when I raced in STCC, a championship that I rank as one of the best touring car championships,” said Huisman.

The STCC 2009 has got two race weekends, four race heats and 40 points left. Thed Björk currently leads the championship, and has done so since the second round.

But the Flash Engineering driver has got a hungry bunch of drivers behind him that Huisman has ranked:

Thed Björk – BMW 320si – 81 points

“He is, like all of the championship contenders, very quick and has got the best chance at the moment. But as he has got the heaviest car for Knutstorp, it is not going to be an easy ride for him!

Knutstorp is not his best circuit if you look at the last two times he raced at the track. He has to try to keep up with the rest and not loose too many points.”

Tommy Rustad – Volvo C30 – 75 points

“I raced against Tommy in the ETCC 2001. He is very fast, has got a lot of experience and car control. He has done a very strong season so far and with Knutstorp and Mantorp coming up; he is my favorite!”

Robin Rudholm – BMW 320si – 65 points

“Robin was my team mate in 2006 and he is very fast in qualifying, especially at Knutstorp. I am surprised to see him to do so well against his team mate this year, he has become much stronger in the races compared to his last two seasons.”

Richard Göransson – BMW 320si – 59 points

“Richard is probably the best driver in STCC, but he has got an aggressive style. I remember Richard entering the pits at Gelleråsen in 2006, hitting the wall hard backwards.

His way of driving does not always help him and it might cost him the championship this year. But on the other hand, he as got nothing to loose at the moment. Knutstorp is going to favor him as he has got 50 kilos less compared to Thed.”

Jan “Flash” Nilsson – BMW 320si – 48 points

“Jan is a quick guy with a lot of experience on how to win races. But he is not consistent enough to win the championship this year.”

Robert Dahlgren – Volvo C30 – 48 points

“With a team mate like Tommy Rustad, he is not the number one driver in the team anymore. He does also seem to be a bit unlucky, or perhaps not being able to handle the pressure of a fast team mate.

But he is going to be very quick at both Knutstorp and Mantorp!”

Duncan’s conclusion

“Team tactics are going to decide the championship this year! WestCoast Racing are in trouble at the moment as they have two drivers fighting hard, sometimes against each other.

In the end, I think that Rustad is going to win it! But he is going to have a very close fight with Björk. I think that Rudholm is going to take the third spot of the championship.

I am looking forward to the final fight!”