Differing views on incident between Söderström and Andersson

Mattias Andersson and Oliver Söderström came together in spectacular style with just two laps left of the first STCC TCR Scandinavia race at Gelleråsen when fighting for third.

“Mattias made a mistake in the corner before and I went for it, but he closed the door a bit too much,” said Söderström.

The two made contact, sending Lynk & Co driver Andersson into a spin and retirement while Lestrup Racing Team driver Söderström was able to continue despite having a broken damper and puncture.

“It was rather stressful, the steering wheel was in a completely wrong angle and that was a bit interesting at 210 km/h,” said Söderström.

“It was a shame to lose the places that we had fought hard for.”

Söderström dropped down to finish ninth while Andersson was classified as 12th, two laps down.

“The driver behind me [Söderström] made a late attack, far too late if you ask me, and hit my front wheel in a bad way that unfortunately meant that we had to retire,” said Andersson.

“It was a real shame as we lost a rather certain podium finish with just two laps left of the race.”

The stewards took no action on the incident, stating that Söderström had left enough room for Andersson at the exit of the turn.

Andersson dropped from third to fourth overall after the Gelleråsen weekend and is trailing points leader Robert Dahlgren by 70 points while Söderström is fifth, eight further points behind.