Andreas Ahlberg hails progress after stunning first weekend at Knutstorp

Andreas Ahlberg leaves Knutstorp second in the championship, after the Volkswagen driver excelled in the mixed and slippery conditions in his Micke Kågered Racing-run Golf GTI TCR, with second in qualifying and second in Race 2 as highlights of his weekend.

Ahlberg looked like he had pole position all sewn up before a last lap flyer by Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky demoted him to second. He converted that to fourth in the race, losing ground at the start to Tobias Brink’s Audi and the second PWR Racing Cupra of Robert Dahlgren, while in Race 2 he followed Dahlgren past both Brink and the Audi of Hannes Morin to be running third at the chequered flag, promoted to second following Dahlgren’s time penalty.

As a result, the 29-year-old is now second in the standings, just two points behind points leader Andreas Wernersson.

“We made some progress during the winter, and since Rudskogen last year we’ve improved a lot in the rain,” said Ahlberg to TouringCarTimes.

“In the wet conditions, I think we were best overall this weekend. We didn’t have the edge in the races over the distance, but we were P4 and P2, and qualifying P2, so it’s been a big improvement since last year.”

Ahlberg is now the best-placed of the Volkswagen drivers in the championship, with the brand – which was the most prominent on the grid last year – now represented by just three cars.

“With both WestCoast and Kristoffersson leaving the championship, of course we as a team want to be the best of the Volkswagens, and I want to be the best of those who drive for Volkswagen,” he added.

“There aren’t as many competitors this year as last year, but I hope we put on a great show. It was pure touring car racing, certainly the second race; it was fun for us as drivers and I hope it was fun for the spectators as well.”