Fierce title and bronze fight in STCC finale this weekend
There are two fierce championship battles in the STCC season finale this weekend at Knutstorp. Polestar Cyan Racing team-mates Richard Göransson and Robert Dahlgren are separated by just 16 points in the title fight while three drivers are separated by 12 points for third place in the championship.
“I have never fought for a title with my team-mate, so this is going to be special. But when the season finale starts, I have to treat him as any other competitor. I am going to drive hard but fair,” said Richard Göransson.
The two clashed already in the previous race at Solvalla saw Dahlgren in a fiery retirement, dropping 11 points on his team-mate and title rival.
“Things went wrong at Solvalla and Richard went over the line in my opinion. But that is the way things are. The important thing is that we as a team have secured the team title so things are completely up to me and Richard about which Volvo driver is going to win the drivers’ title. I hope for a clean fight but I can promise that I will drive hard,” said Dahlgren.
The fight for the bronze place in the championship is even closer with Flash Engineering driver Björn Wirdheim and SEAT Dealer Team PWR Racing team-mates Johan Kristoffersson and Daniel Haglöf separated by 12 points.
Wirdheim is ahead on 187 points, just two points more than Kristoffersson who was disqualified from the races at Karlskoga due to missing damper seals, and missed the previous race at Solvalla due to a clashing WRX round. Haglöf is a bit further behind on 175 points after the mandatory points-drop of one race weekend.
Weights will also be a part of the season finale with Wirdheim being the heaviest driver while Göransson will have ten kilos more than title rival Dahlgren:
Penalty weights for STCC Knutstorp
40kg Wirdheim
30kg Göransson & Haglöf
20kg Dahlgren
10kg Morin
With Mattias Andersson a full 41 points behind Wirdheim in sixth place, the Dacia Dealer Team driver is hoping to end the season on a high, although recognising the gap to third, his best possible target, being too big.
”The gap to them is unfortunately a bit too big, so our possibilities to reach a better place are not that good. But I have won at Knutstorp before in my career and the feeling for the race this weekend is good. The goal is a podium but I would of course most rather get a race win,” said Andersson.
The STCC season finale starts on Friday this week with testing and qualifying, followed by the two final races of 2016 on Saturday.
