Thed Björk and Volvo lead the standings after a strong weekend at Motegi
Polestar Cyan Racing leave Japan with an extended lead in the drivers’ championship, with Thed Björk making headway after finishing fourth and fifth in the two races, while his new threat comes from Honda’s Norbert Michelisz, who’s moved up to seconds in the standings.
Björk faced an action-packed opening race, battling hard with Honda’s new signing Esteban Guerrieri in the later stages and had to settle for fourth despite briefly moving up to second on the road, while in the Main Race, the Swede was one of the few drivers to make a pass during the limited running under gree, passing Ryo Michigami to finish Volvo S60 WTCC home in fifth position.
”We had the speed for better results but I am leaving Japan with a bigger championship lead than before and that was our objective,” said Björk. “The team did a massive effort to bring me such a great car despite a very tough schedule due to the typhoon.”
The weekend was also mixed for team-mate Nicky Catsburg. The Dutchman who forced to start the opening race from the back of the grid due to an engine change penalty, recovering to finish ninth despite a drive-through penalty after an incident with Honda’s Michigami. The Dutchman was second in the main race, where he qualified, and closes the gap in the drivers’ championship as a result.
”The results did not reflect our potential, but with that said, it has been a good weekend and I have moved closer to the championship lead which was my ambition,” said Catsburg. “We had some issues, my wipers stopped working in the second race but I still managed to set the fastest lap.”
“I do not agree with the decision to stop the main race due to the weather,” added the Volvo driver, feeling he could have challenged Michelisz for the victory. “But I am nonetheless happy with second place and my aim is to bring even more points from Macau.”
Catsburg is third in the standings, 19 points behind team-mate Björk heading to the next round at Macau in three weeks’ time.
