Andreas Wernersson holds off Dahlgren for dramatic Skellefteå win

Brink Audi driver Andreas Wernersson has claimed the championship lead after winning the first race at Skellefteå, following a dramatic battle with PWR Racing’s Robert Dahlgren, with Wernersson winning in a photo-finish by 0.022 seconds.

Wernersson launched into the lead from pole position ahead of Dahlgren, with the Micke Kågered Racing Volkswagen of Andreas Ahlberg safely in third, while Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky made the most of bad starts by the Brink Audis of Hannes Morin and Tobias Brink to leap to fourth.

Morin’s race soon came to an end, with the 16-year-old pulling off the track at the hairpin with a front-right puncture on his RS 3 LMS, becoming the only retirement of the race.

Mattias Andersson in the MA:GP Honda had moved ahead of Peter ‘Poker’ Wallenberg’s Cupra at the start, but lacked the pace to keep with the leading five cars, which soon split into two groups.

Wernersson and Dahlgren pulled away from the chasers, while Ahlberg was busy defending against Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Brinks cars for the duration of the race.

While things seemed seemed settled, it all came to a head on the final lap, with Dahlgren making his move to take the lead down the back section of the circuit, but coming to the hairpin, Wernersson opted for a do-or-die pass, forcing Dahlgren wide and taking the lead.

The Cupra driver fought back at the final sequence and pulled alongside heading to the finish, with the two cars drag racing down the straight, but Wernersson took the win by a margin of just 0.022 seconds.

Ahlberg secured third ahead of Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Brink, with Andersson a distant sixth, and Wallenberg some way back in seventh.

Wernersson’s victory gives him back the lead of the championship, now four points clear of Dahlgren heading into this evening’s second race at 20:05 CEST, with Wernersson starting fourth and Dahlgren third.