Jonas Lundin to step down as STCC CEO

Jonas Lundin will stand down from his role as the CEO of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship (STCC) at the end of the month, TouringCarTimes can reveal.

Former Polestar marketing director Hans Bååth will take over the position of chairman of the championship board from 2018, amid a reshuffle at the top of Swedish motorsport.

The STCC recently posted a loss of 38 million SEK in 2016, but Bååth is confident that it is enough of “an investment” for the series. STCC AB also reported a significant increase in capital year-on-year from 2015.

Bååth told TouringCarTimes: “What we can reveal today is that I will become the chairman of the board of the Scandinavian Touring Car Company AB.

“Today is a tough day for Jonas because he’s not saying goodbye just yet, he will still work until the end of the month,” he added.

Lundin first entered the series as a sponsor in 2010, before taking the CEO role in July 2014, as the championship was starting to recover from the split in 2012 which saw the championship divided into two, the STCC and the TTA Elitserien i Racing.

From then, Lundin’s vision to transform the STCC into a more affordable and fan-friendly championship developed, and eventually culminated in the adoption of TCR technical regulations for the 2017 season.

Lundin will officially step down from his STCC duties following the final round of the RallyX Nordic series next weekend, and return to a top position within the construction industry.

Bååth wants to take advantage of the revitalised championship, which the TCR format has brought to the championship to further grow the series.

Baåth said: “Motorsport, if you do it right, it has the potential to become the most popular sport in the world.

“We need to create the sort of excitement and atmosphere that we saw at Mantorp this weekend to the fans and engage them even more,” he added.

Crucial to this idea has been the development of social media exposure and mobile apps, used to encourage more fans to flock to STCC events over the course of the season.

The STCC Live App, which first appeared on the eve of the Solvalla round in June, was, according to Bååth, a litmus test for the future promotion of the series.

“The collaboration with Net Insight and Story Fire were critical to developing the technology required by the app, and it is hoped this new point of access for fans will continue into 2018.”

Lundin was hired by the series in 2014 to develop the STCC from being a minority sport in Sweden, to one which generated more investment from spectators, partners and manufacturers.

Bååth continued: “Because Jonas was already part of the series as a sponsor, it was logical that he was brought in to restructure the company.

“Jonas had his eye on moving to a better formula for STCC. We already had RallyX Nordic – which is also run by STCC – and the series’ owners [Daniel and Filip Sporre] decided to invest in this.

“We would like to thank Jonas for his invaluable contribution to the series and wish him the best for the future.”