Photo: Mediaempire.se

Hard fight expected in penultimate STCC race at Knutstorp

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The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship heads in to the penultimate round of the season at Knutstorp this weekend. The conditions are there for an intense fight, not only between main title rivals Fredrik Ekblom and Rickard Rydell.

Eleven points separate the both with four race heats and 100 points left. Both teams have expanded with a third car, Team Biogas.se with Johan Kristoffersson and Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden most recently with Danish WTCC racer Michel Nykjaer.

Ekblom had the edge on Rydell earlier this season at Knutstorp, but Chevrolet has got a weight break of 20 kilos ahead of this weekend while the Volkswagen’s are 60 kilos heavier compared to last time out at Knutstorp.

But the Chevrolet and Volkswagen drivers are far from alone in the fight for top positions. Volvo Polestar Racing’s Tommy Rustad, who is third in the championship, claimed pole and won the first race at Jyllandsringen in style and showed strong form at Knutstorp in May. The Norwegian is going to get a new team mate as well for this weekend, a driver with vast experience of STCC according to information to TouringCarTimes.

A number of other drivers are not to be forgotten for the victory fight, such as WestCoast Racing’s Richard Göransson, who has won three out of the eight last races, Colin Turkington, Johan Stureson, Mattias Andersson, Jan “Flash” Nilsson and many more.

All of the drivers listed above are more or less out of the title fight and have little to lose in the two final race weekends in bright contrast to Ekblom and Rydell.

Action starts with qualifying on Friday, followed by the two races on Saturday.

Official weight list for Knutstorp

+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 = 1199 kilo – Volvo C30
+20 kilo = 1185 kilo – Chevrolet Cruze
+10 kilo = 1180 kilo – Volkswagen Scirocco [Kristoffersson]
+-0 kilo = 1150 kilo – Alfa Romeo 156
-20 kilo = 1145 kilo – Honda Accord [Giovanardi, Elgaard]
-10 kilo = 1140 kilo – SEAT León TFSi
-20 kilo = 1130 kilo – Honda Accord
-10 kilo = 1120 kilo – SEAT León TFSi [Jason Watt]
-20 kilo = 1120 kilo – BMW 320i E46

Knutstorp one year ago

Race 1:
1 Fredrik Ekblom
2 Robert Dahlgren
3 Tommy Rustad

Race 2:
1 Thed Björk
2 Patrik Olsson
3 Mattias Andersson

Fastest lap:
Fredrik Ekblom – 1:01.646

Pole position:
Fredrik Ekblom – 1:00.871