Thed Björk says his target is to be the WTCC champion

Polestar Cyan Racing driver Thed Björk says his objective in the World Touring Car Championship is to eventually win the drivers’ championship crown, but admits his target in the team’s first season with a two-car programme is to be regularly in the top three by the season end.

Björk, a four-time Scandinavian Touring Car Championship drivers’ champion, will race one of the team’s two TC1 specification Volvo S60s in 2016 alongside team-mate and STCC rival Fredrik Ekblom, and the 35-year-old has high hopes for the new car which has been in development throughout 2015.

“I think with a bit of optimistic thinking that we will qualify around fifth or sixth (for the first race),” said Bjork. “Towards the end of the year I hope that we can be in the top five or top three with some stability. But it is really an impossible question to answer as we simply don’t know where we are yet.”

With Volvo having tested in private to-date, Björk says one of the most difficult aspects heading into the new season is knowing the Volvo’s relative pace.

“The most challenging thing is to not know exactly how fast the others are,” he said. “These circuits require a lot from the driver and the car. That makes it really challenging to try to understand what to prepare for, how to drive as fast as possible.

“This is one of the most extreme touring cars with a lot of power,” he added. “It is challenging to find the key in order to drive as fast as possible, we just need to find that sweet spot as fast as possible.”

With Citroën having dominated their first two seasons in the WTCC, Björk recognises that the two factory Citroën drivers will be the ones to beat “(López and Muller) have been in a class of their own,” he said, before adding that his end goal with Polestar Cyan’s WTCC programme is “(To be) world champion. As simple and as clear as that.”