Photo: Mediaempire.se

STCC returns to Denmark and Jyllandsringen

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The 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship is back where the season started in April at Jyllandsringen in Denmark. With just three race weekends left of 2011, tension is no doubt going to be running high between title contenders Fredrik Ekblom, 154 points, and Rickard Rydell, 149 points.

Looking back at the first race of the season, Rydell has got an advantage at Jyllandsringen. The Volkswagen Biogas.se team struggled severely in both qualifying and the two races with 14th on the grid and 10th as best result for Ekblom.

Rydell on the other hand was fastest in Q1, but dropped to fifth in Q2 and finished fourth in the first race.

There are a number of drivers eager to eat up the point buffer of the top two. BMW driver Johan Stureson is closest, 37 points behind, with Tommy Rustad another three points adrift. Rustad has had a strong run of results at Jyllandsringen with pole and second in the first race of this season.

But the man on the strongest charge is no doubt Richard Göransson. The reigning champion missed the three first race weekends due to a severe crash at Jyllandsringen in the season opener. Göransson has won three of the six races he has taken part in after his return from the injury, climbed to fifth in the championship and was really fast at Jyllandsringen before his crash.

Not to exclude from the top fight this weekend are drivers like Jan “Flash” Nilsson, Colin Turkington, Mattias Andersson, Patrik Olsson and Jyllandsringen expert Jason Watt.

New to the STCC this weekend is Hartmann Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and Casper Elgaard. Both of them with a lot of touring car experience, but Giovanardi has never before seen Jyllandsringen while Elgaard has won here many times.

Another Italian with no experience of Jyllandsringen is Volvo Polestar Racing’s Gabriele Tarquini, who continues his evaluation with Polestar ahead of an eventual complete 2012 WTCC season.

Action starts at Jyllandsringen on saturday with qualifying and races on sunday.

Official weight list for Jyllandsringen

+40 kilo = 1225 kilo – BMW 320si E90 [6 speed SQ-box]
+40 kilo = 1210 kilo – BMW 320si E90 [5 speed H-box]
+40 kilo = 1210 kilo – Volkswagen Scirocco
+40 kilo = 1205 kilo – Chevrolet Cruze
+40 kilo = 1199 kilo – Volvo C30
+-0 kilo = 1165 kilo – Honda Accord [Elgaard, Giovanardi]
-10 kilo = 1160 kilo – Volkswagen Scirocco [Kristoffersson]
+10 kilo = 1160 kilo – Alfa Romeo 156
+-0 kilo = 1150 kilo – Honda Accord [Engström]
+-0 kilo = 1150 kilo – SEAT León TFSi
+-0 kilo = 1130 kilo – SEAT León TFSi [Jason Watt]
-20 kilo = 1120 kilo – BMW 320i E46

Jyllandsringen one year ago

Race 1:
1 Richard Göransson
2 Robert Dahlgren
3 Tommy Rustad

Race 2:
1 Thed Björk
2 Richard Göransson
3 Robert Dahlgren

Fastest lap:
Thed Björk – 1:11.725

Pole position:
Robert Dahlgren 1:10.216