Johan Kristoffersson avoids puncture drama to win third Falkenberg race
Johan Kristoffersson took his sixth Scandinavian Touring Car Championship victory of the season in a chaotic final race at Falkenberg, dominated by punctures.
De facto pole-sitter Fredrik Ekblom led for much of the race before a blown front-left tyre sent him into the barriers and out of the race with six laps remaining.
Earlier, the would-be pole-man and Kristoffersson Motorsport team-mate Fredrik Blomstedt failed to start after suffering irreparable damage sustained in his race two crash, also caused by a front-left puncture.
Robert Dahlgren took yet another runner-up spot in second while Reuben Kressner took a superb podium in third.
In reality, the final podium position could have been taken any number of five drivers, tyre problems permitted. Dahlgren’s PWR Racing team colleague Daniel Haglöf comfortably held third before having to pit when his tyre deflated. He struggled round to take 13th.
Ekblom got the ideal start from ‘pole’, albeit on the cleaner side of the track to lead from Kristoffersson and Dahlgren into the first corner as the field managed to get round the opening tour miraculously without any contact.
But any hopes of a trouble-free final encounter were quashed by a number of unnecessary incidents throughout the field of 18 starters.
Dennis Strandberg was the first to get himself into bother with the race stewards as he tipped Tobias Brink into a spin on the exit of the chicane. The Lestrup Racing Volkswagen driver copped a drive-through penalty for his manoeuvre but recovered to finish 12th, while Brink was fifth.
There was more strife for PWR after Haglöf’s pit-stop, with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky enduring a tumultuous race. She received a drive-through penalty after sending the Honda of Mattias Andersson spinning on the exit of the chicane and went two laps down. She later retired from 16th with a mechanical problem.
One driver who was making his overtakes stick as Kart in Club Academy’s Joonas Lappalainen. The Finn pulled off an audacious move round the outside of Kressner into turn one, but cost himself a chance of a potential podium by out-braking himself at the same corner two laps later. Lappalainen eventually finished eighth, behind the second Lestrup car of Albin Wärnelöv and Andreas Ahlberg.
Rounding out the top ten were the other two Finnish drivers. Olli Kangas scored his maiden points with ninth, while LMS Racing team-mate Kari-Pekka Laaksonen made it two in the points with tenth.
Kressner was exceptional in the Brovallen Design Audi RS 3 LMS. Keeping himself out of trouble throughout, he was elevated to third when Ekblom careered off the track at the fast left-right chicane of turn five, and even challenge Dahlgren briefly on the final tour.
Out front Kristoffersson maintained his slight advantage over Dahlgren in second as both tried to make it home on their Michelin rubber. Dahlgren’s second place extends his championship points leader over Kristoffersson to 12 points headng into the next round in Gelleråsen in August.
