Robert Dahlgren: STCC title a “weight off my shoulders”

Newly crowned Scandinavian Touring Car Champion Robert Dahlgren says the pressure is off for the remainder of the weekend, after taking his maiden STCC title in the opening race at Mantorp Park after 13 tries.

Dahlgren finished sixth in the first race to claim the title in his PWR Racing SEAT León, while chief rival Fredrik Ekblom won the race.

The former Volvo works driver, whose last major title came in the Scandinavian Touring Car Cup in 2010, came into the weekend needing to score just two points to be crowned.

He told TouringCarTimes: “It means the world to me to win the title. I know I’ve had the speed the last few years and we’ve had a lot of misfortune. I felt I’ve deserved it in the past and things haven’t fallen into place, but now it’s just amazing to have this weight off my shoulders.”

Asked whether he could now push without pressure in the final two races, Dahlgren said: “Shit yeah, it’s going to be an amazing feeling charging through he field knowing I don’t have to worry about the championship for the last two races.”

Things nearly ended badly for Dahlgren at the beginning of the race. A multi-car pile-up which ended the races of Lestrup’s Albin Wärnelöv, PWR Junior John Bryant-Meisner and Reuben Kressner in the Brovallen Audi, almost wiped out Dahlgren at the first corner.

Wärnelöv’s car narrowly missed Dahlgren, with the new champion keeping his foot down to avoid an early retirement. Dahlgren said: “Normally I would have lifted in that situation but at that point, I just floored it and kept it flat. It was more important to get through and not be hit.”

The avoided contact was crucial to securing the title, something Dahlgren was astutely aware of come the restart.

“It was tough to race but not race. I had to try and play it safe and get the points I had to but keep enough speed to stay ahead of the rest,” he said.

“The main focus was to get the job done in the first race and not have to worry about it for too long. I felt I had a lot more speed and it was so tough to get the title,” Dahlgren added.