Photo: STCC

Fredrik Blomstedt takes final STCC win of the season at Mantorp

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Fredrik Blomstedt took his second Scandinavian Touring Car Championship victory of the season in the final race of 2017 at Mantorp Park.

The Kristoffersson Motorsport driver trailed early race-leader Mattias Andersson in the Honda Civic before making a bold move with nine laps remaining.

Andersson claimed the runner-up spot for the second race running, while Robert Dahlgren just fended off Andreas Wernersson for the final podium position.

Double race winner Fredrik Ekblom finished eighth following a drive-through penalty for contact with Daniel Haglöf on the opening lap. Ekblom and Andersson again battled for the lead into the first corner with pole-sitter Andersson taking the upper hand.

Haglöf was able to jump Blomstedt into third place and in a repeat of their contretemps in Anderstorp, traded blows with Ekblom down the back-straight.

Having lost the position to the PWR SEAT, Ekblom fought back immediately but locked his brakes into the penultimate corner, hitting Haglöf and sending the PWR SEAT wide.

Ekblom predictably received a drive-through penalty, which he took straight away. Another spin on the next lap along with the time lost in the pits meant he finished eighth at the end.

Out front, Blomstedt made his move for the lead and sent his Volkswagen Golf GTI down the inside of Andersson around half-distance. Andersson had no realistic defence and was left to battle hard against the charging Wernersson and Dahlgren.

Entering the closing stages, the superiority of the SEAT León showed as Dahlgren managed to force his way past Wernersson after the Lestrup driver made a small mistake at Turn Five.

The leading quartet provided much of the entertainment in a surprisingly sedate final race of the year, with fifth placed Andreas Ahlberg over ten seconds further back in his Micke Kågered Volkswagen.

Ahlberg beat the Brink Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS of Tobias Brink who in turn, headed Reuben Kressner in another Audi.

Behind Ekblom was series debutant John Bryant-Meisner, who picked up his first points in the PWR Junior Audi, while team co-owner Peter “Poker” Wallenberg claimed the final point in tenth.