Photo: STCC Media

Johan Kristoffersson takes shock points lead after dramatic weekend at Karlskoga

World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson has now taken over the lead of the STCC drivers’ championship after a controversial weekend at Karlskoga, with the Cupras of Daniel Haglöf and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky excluded from both races, handing the KMS Volkswagen driver his first win of the season.

Kristoffersson battled to third in Race 1, fighting the PWR Racing Cupra TCR of Philip Morin for second, but after Morin and race winner Haglöf were excluded, Kristoffersson was then promoted to the victory, his first of the season.

In Race 2 he fought his way forward from seventh to third, which became second when Åhlin-Kottulinsky was also excluded for an illegal exhaust after the race.

“It’s always nice to have a victory, but I’d rather show it on the track then get it after the race,” said Kristoffersson to TouringCarTimes.

“It’s an odd feeling not knowing if the championship has been fair all season, or if this has been only for one race. For sure I’d have liked to have shown it on the track from the first race at Knutstorp.

“I’m just happy to be on the podium again, a big thanks to the team, my car was much faster in the second race compared to the first race.

“I had some traffic at the beginning but we managed to get through it quite well. At the end with Mattias (Andersson), I think he had very good control. I tried to catch him during the last eight laps, but then I couldn’t close the gap completely as (Andreas) Wernersson was right behind me, and I didn’t want him to get into the fight.”

2012 STCC champion Kristoffersson now leads the championship by a single point over last year’s champion Robert Dahlgren, with Andreas Wernersson just ten points behind heading to the next round at Rudskogen in Sweden in three weeks’ time.