First STCC podium finish for Daniel Haglöf “feels unreal”

Daniel Haglöf scored his first ever STCC podium finish in the first race at Falkenberg from tenth on the grid.
“I didn’t expect that from my grid position. It actually feels unreal,” said Haglöf.

The Saab driver had a tough qualifying session where his car started leaking water, leaving him with the tenth fastest lap time.

Haglöf started to move up through the field in the race, but his real position advancement came after the safety car restart where he passed both Richard Göransson and Linus Ohlsson in a controversial maneuver in the braking for turn one.
“I had my eyes further down the track than both Linus and Richard. I didn’t expect to pass both, but that was how it turned out,” said Haglöf.

The PWR Racing driver made contact with Ohlsson going past, leaving the Volvo driver surprised that Haglöf did not get a penalty.
“I got a penalty for, in my eyes, a similar incident in the second race. Haglöf used me as a brake for the corner, he wouldn’t have made the corner otherwise,” said Ohlsson.

The STCC organisation did not issue a penalty for the incident, which saw Haglöf fending off Göransson for the remainder of the race to take third position and his first STCC podium.
“I am really glad to have taken the first podium for a non Volvo or BMW driver this year. We have had a super weekend on a track that we struggled on last year,” said Haglöf.