Albin Wärnelöv out of qualifying with fresh gearbox problem

Albin Wärnelöv will not take part in qualifying for the third round of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship at Solvalla after being hit with a gearbox issue during the second test.

The Lestrup Racing driver broke a driveshaft at the end of the opening test as well as suffering a damaged splitter from hitting a kerb, but the latest setback has proven too much for the mechanics to resolve.

“We managed to fix the driveshaft before the session but as I went to change gears, I just heard a clicking sound, so had to bring the car back in,” said Wärnelöv to TouringCarTimes.

“I had gears, but I just couldn’t engage them, so we are trying to resolve this issue now.”

The team drained the oil from the Volkswagen Golf GTI but found nothing untoward. Without a quick fix being available, Wärnelöv will automatically start all three of Saturdays races from the back of the grid.

“Hopefully we can make some progress in the races, I believe there will be chances to overtake,” Wärnelöv said. “The braking zones are quite a bit longer now with the TCR cars.”