Preview – Weights come in to force at Knutstorp

The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship rolls on to Sweden and Knutstorp for the second and third race of the year. Knutstorp marks the first race of 2011 when the penalty weights comes in to force.

Volkswagen Team Biogas.se is going to run light cars this weekend after the nightmare start of the season two weeks ago when their drivers Fredrik Ekblom and Patrik Olsson only managed to score a single point each.

The story is completely the opposite for BMW driver and championship leader Johan Stureson. The IPS Motorsport driver surprised the field at Jyllandsringen by winning the second race and pulled up a lead in the points.

But the new found speed for Stureson also means a heavy car for him and the other BMW drivers, 1170 kilos for the 5 speed H-box and 1185 kilos for the seqiential 6-speed gearbox.

The top four cars in the weight list, the BMW, Chevrolet, Volvo and SEAT, are 75 to 40 kilos heavier this weekend compared to the Volkswagen Scirocco.

While the weights get a lot of focus, the weekend at Knutstorp promises close racing. The Volvo duo of Tommy Rustad and James Thompson were unable to translate the dominating performance from the qualifying to results in the races and both are on track for revenge this weekend.

1998 BTCC champion Rickard Rydell had an okay start of the season, trailing the championship leader with 11 points and should be a top contender in the races, as hinted in the pre-season testing at Knutstorp with Rydell third fastest.

Second fastest in the official testing at Knutstorp and second in the second race at Jyllandsringen was 2009 BTCC champion Colin Turkington. The Northern Irishman is still in the process of learning the Scandinavian tracks, as is his fellow country man Thompson, but has stated that Knutstorp is the track he likes most in Sweden. Knutstorp has also proven to be a track suitable for the rear-wheel driven BMW.

Mattias Andersson in the Alfa Romeo 156 is also a force to be reckoned at Knutstorp. The MA:GP driver scored his first victory of the season last year at Knutstorp and is running on 1170 kilos this weekend.

There remains a question mark regarding the SEAT Leóns of Roger Eriksson, Tobias Johansson and race one winner Jason Watt. While they showed strong form at Jyllandsringen, neither teams has got the experience of running maximum ballast weight and Watt has little experience of Knutstorp and struggled at the bottom of the field last year.

Knutstorp is set for sunny weather and temperatures of 20 degrees this weekend, promising for exciting races and a lot of focus on the weights and tyre wear. Is Ekblom and Olsson going to deliver with the lighter biogas Sciroccos? Are the BMW drivers going to continue on top at Knutstorp? Is Thompson and Rustad going to stay clear of each other in the races?

Official weight list for Knutstorp

1225 kilo – BMW 320si E90 [5 & 6 speed SQ-box]
1210 kilo – BMW 320si E90 [5 speed H-box]
1205 kilo – Chevrolet Cruze
1199 kilo – Volvo C30
1190 kilo – SEAT León TFSi
1170 kilo – Alfa Romeo 156
1170 kilo – SEAT León TFSi [Jason Watt]
1150 kilo – Volkswagen Scirocco
1130 kilo – Honda Accord
1120 kilo – BMW 320i E46