Volkswagen confirms appeal on Rydell

Volkswagen has confirmed that they are taking the appeal on Rickard Rydell to the Swedish Motorsport Federation.
“Our only wish is that the question is thoroughly investigated,” said team boss Tommy Kristoffersson.

The appeal is regarding Rydell overtaking fourth Volkswagen driver Thed Björk under yellow flags in the final race of STCC 2011, a pass which in the end meant that Rydell scored enough points to beat Fredrik Ekblom to the title.

The initial protest from Volkswagen was denied by the stewards of the race with regard to that there was no evidence to support Björk’s testimony that Rydell had passed him under the yellows.
“We have dug thoroughly in this and there are TV images from the race and we want them [Swedish Motorsport Federation] to go through it all. We hired Thed to drive the final race, but we have no reason to doubt his information as he is one of STCC’s most experienced drivers,” said Kristoffersson.

Should Rydell be found guilty and penalized with as much as a drop of one position in the final race, Ekblom and Rydell would end up on the same points in the championship.

Ekblom would in that case be crowned new champion as he finished ahead of Rydell in the most recent race, as stipulated in the STCC regulations in regard to drivers ending up on the same points, as was the case between Tommy Rustad and Thed Björk in STCC 2009.
“We are men of sports and we have no problem in accepting that Rydell wins the title if he sticks to the existing regulations. But in this case there is a lot pointing at the opposite and we see no reason for us not to appeal the decision of the stewards and let the Swedish Motorsport Federation take on the matter,” said Kristoffersson, adding:

“After all, the title of the most prestigious racing championship in Sweden at stake and then the existing rules are extra important, especially for the credibility of the championship.”