Photo: STCC

Drivers agree cancelling Q2 was the right call at Mantorp Park

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The drivers of the STCC have unanimously agreed that abandoning qualifying at Mantorp Park was the right call after ‘Storm Knud’ hit the track just before the end of Q1, causing havoc in the paddock and for some of the team’s tents to be blown away.

Andreas Wernersson, the outside contender for the title, had just set the fastest time in the 20-minute Qualifying 1 segment before the storm swept in, with the circuit being hit hard with rain and wind.

The session was red-flagged, with team members scrambling back to the paddock to protect their hospitality units and garage awnings from the storm, with the race director taking the decision to abandon qualifying, and award no championship points with Q2 having not taken place.

“It’s the STCC finale at Mantorp Park and anything can happen, and it did!” said Wernersson.

“I could barely see the car beside me in the pits, that’s when I realised that it was pretty bad. To cancel Q2 was the right decision in terms of safety. The team had warned me that it could rain and the lap I set was OK, not wow, but enough.”

Robert Dahlgren qualified third on the grid in his PWR Racing Cupra TCR, ahead of chief title rival Johan Kristoffersson, and also believes the call was correct.

“I don’t think anyone expected it to rain so much that Q2 was cancelled, so we were going for a safe lap to make it onto Q2,” he said.

“I don’t think this result really shows the speed of anyone, but with the amount of rain that came in such a short period of time, it feels like stopping the session was the right decision to take. I saw some tents in the pits being blown away, it’s never fun to see that happen to any team.”

Should points have been awarded, Dahlgren would have scored an additional three points to move ten clear of Kristoffersson, with the reigning champion needing to be 21 ahead and finish ahead of Kristoffersson in the last race in order be absolutely certain of the title, in respect of the protests raised by WestCoast Racing and MA:GP earlier today.

“The fact that we don’t get any points for qualifying is what it is. We have to just go with the situation we are in and race for it tomorrow,” he said.