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STCC and TTA declare war

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Bob Huzell, MD of the STCC and Jan ‘Flash’ Nilsson of the breakaway TTA series have openly criticized each others actions in the wake of the TTA’s announced link with the Swedish Racing League, both threatening that only one series can survive.

Just over two weeks ago the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship reaffirmed its decision to progress with the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) platform which has been introduced into the British Touring Car Championship this season. This saw the Touring Car Teams Association quickly announce their departure from the series to form their own championship with their preferred option of a Solution-F V6 engined formula.

Bob Huzell, the Managing Director of STCC AB has stated that he believes the STCC will continue and will fight off the challenge of the TTA’s new series.

“We are going to work hard to survive and if that means that TTA disappears, then that is what we are trying to do,” said Huzell to SVT.

“We are going to do everything in our powers to continue being the best racing series in Sweden. There is a good cohesion among the other STCC teams and there are teams willing to fill the gap after those that disappear. They should not relax too much. We are going to expand our concept and become better, no matter what TTA does or doesn’t.”

Jan ‘Flash’ Nilsson, MD and driver with the Flash Engineering team, one of the four teams that makes up the TTA has responded strongly to Huzell’s comments.

“We shall not forget that this is not only about the regulations. STCC accepted the Solution-F regulations earlier this year in talks with us and went to France to get the deal. When they didn’t get it, they ended the talks with us and announced NGTC,” said Nilsson.

“We believe in sporting values and we believe in Swedish racing. We also believe that you need to work together with the organisers, the teams and drivers in order to raise the level of Swedish motorsport. That is why we have started (the new championship). The teams (TTA) that you see here today, they are the core of STCC. We create the feelings, we attract the crowds. I cannot see that there is room for two championships. That means that one of them is going to disappear.”