Half time for STCC at speedy Falkenberg

The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship reaches half time this weekend at the fast Falkenberg circuit which means home grounds for BMW and WestCoast Racing. Richard Göransson won the race here last year in style and is keen to gain lost ground on championship leader and Volvo driver Thed Björk.
“We are heading to this race with the mindset to gain on Björk in the championship,” said Göransson.

The BMW driver seemed set for a victory in the last race in Gothenburg. But as Göransson was on wets on a drying track, he was an easy target for Björk, Robert Dahlgren and manufacturer colleague Robin Rudholm on slicks at the end of the race, dropping him to fourth position.
“We have had an awesome start to the season. We have been fast in all races but we have had some setbacks that have been outside of our control,” said Göransson.

While Björk had a tough race at Falkenberg last year, finishing sixth, the Volvo driver is confident that his strong pace from the start of the season, with three straight victories, will continue this weekend.
“It is time for two more victories! Falkenberg is the home circuit of BMW and it is different to what we have raced on so far this year, but that is not going to change anything. We never really got to show our speed here last year. But this year I have a completely different feeling and for my part it is all about keeping the pace up and continue to score points for the championship,” said Björk.

While Björk and Göransson both have their sights firmly set on victory, Göransson’s team mate Fredrik Larsson is the real home driver of Falkenberg, living not far from the track with a lot of impressive previous races in other classes at the track.
“We have been in the top of all sessions and that is where we are going to be this weekend as well. We are going to show them how it should be done!” said Larsson.

The top non Volvo or BMW driver in the championship so far is Saab driver Daniel Haglöf who was on the way for a strong result in Gothenburg after being in the top of both practice and qualifying, only to drop down to seventh after opting for wet tyres on the drying track.
“The weather tricked us. It was dry in the both practice sessions and we were really fast then. We are there in the top, trying, getting closer and closer. We are continuing to develop things so we can challenge Volvo and BMW more frequently,” said Haglöf.

The top Citroën driver is Jocke Mangs who has had a mixed start to the season, with flashes of competitive speed, but with three eighth position finishes and one retired race as result so far.
“I like that we are doing two races and I am looking forward to race again. It is a bit difficult for me to set a goal for the weekend, we are heading there to race as fast as we can and we’ll see where that will take us,” said Mangs.

The race weekend at Falkenberg features two races of 20 minutes each, meaning twice as many points as the two previous races at Solvalla and Gothenburg. Volvo driver Robert Dahlgren is closest to the championship leading duo, just four points behind Göransson.
“Falkenberg is important with double races and it is also marks mid-point of the championship. I am very pleased with the start of the season so far while Thed obviously has got a better start. But if I keep going like this I should be in for the title fight. My goal for the weekend is to get two podium finishes and continue to gain points on my worst main rivals,” said Dahlgren.

Entry list Falkenberg

Fredrik Ekblom – Volvo Polestar Racing – Volvo S60
Thed Björk – Volvo Polestar Racing – Volvo S60
Robert Dahlgren – Volvo Polestar Performance – Volvo S60
Linus Ohlsson – Volvo Polestar Performance – Volvo S60
Carl Philip Bernadotte – Volvo Polestar – Volvo S60
Richard Göransson – BMW Dealer Team – BMW SR
Fredrik Larsson – BMW Dealer Team – BMW SR
Robin Rudholm – WestCoast Racing – BMW SR
Jocke Mangs – Brovallen Design – Citroën C5
Niclas Olsson – Brovallen Design – Citroën C5
Tomas Engström – Engström Motorsport – Honda Civic
Mattias Andersson – Dacia Dealer Team – Dacia SE
Roar Lindland – Team Tidö – Saab 9-3
Daniel Haglöf – PWR Racing – Saab 9-3
Alexander Graff – Picko Troberg Racing – Saab 9-3

Schedule Falkenberg

Friday 12/7
15.00 – STCC Test 1
17.20 – STCC Test 2

Saturday 13/7
09.00 – STCC Q1
09.20 – STCC Q2
09.35 – STCC Q3
15.25 – STCC Race