Rydell ready for closest STCC title fight ever

Rickard Rydell heads to Mantorp Park this weekend for the closest STCC final in history. Two points separate Rydell from championship leader Fredrik Ekblom.
“It is great to head to the final being in the title fight. For us to have a good shot at taking the crown, we need to be fastest in qualifying and win the first race,” said Rydell.

The Chevrolet did exactly that in the last race at Knutstorp, claiming pole and race one victory. But Ekblom was a mere seven thousands of a second behind Rydell in qualifying at Knutstorp and Rydell has gained 20 kilos of penalty weight for the race at Mantorp, a track which favors the powerful turbo Volkswagen engine.

“We tested at Mantorp last week with focus on the qualifying session. As the season has been so far, qualifying has had a great importance and the final is not going to be an exception,” said Rydell.

The qualifying score of this season weighs over to Ekblom with 5-3 to Rydell, but the Chevrolet driver is calm ahead of the final.

“The final is really like any race during the season with one qualifying session and two races, but this time we are racing for the title. No matter the result at Mantorp, everyone in the team has done a great season, especially as we have grown from one to three cars in a short period of time,” said Rydell.