Thed Björk claims pole and extends championship lead at Solvalla

2015-09-11

Thed Björk claimed pole position in qualifying for the first Scandinavian Touring Car Championship race at Solvalla and extended his championship lead.

”It was great to secure pole after a day of hard work. This is great for my championship challenge,” said Björk.

The Cyan Polestar Racing driver was fastest by 0.025 seconds in the second qualifying session, held in twilight conditions, with team mate Fredrik Ekblom in third position.

The first qualifying session, which awards points to the championship but reverses the top ten grid order for the second race, saw Björk being second fastest and Ekblom fourth fastest.

”I am pleased to have beaten Fredrik Larsson but disappointed not being able to challenge Björk. My laps were good but just not fast enough compared to Björk. But tomorrow is a new day and I will push hard in the races,” said Ekblom.

Prince Carl Philip will start 11th in both races and was not pleased with the qualifying run.

”The day did not end as I wanted. The track is really slippery and we didn’t get the setup right. We will nonetheless fight hard tomorrow,” said Prince Carl Philip.

STCC race day at Solvalla starts with race one at 14:45 CET.

STCC Solvalla

Circuit: Solvalla

Length: 1250 m

Lap record (STCC): 0:43.262, Thed Björk (2014)

Results

Q1 – Top 5

1 Daniel Haglöf Saab 9-3 46.059

2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.247

3 Mattias Andersson Dacia SE +0.261

4 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +0.361

5 Richard Göransson Saab 9-3 +0.511

11 Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60 +2.559

Q2 - Top 5

1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 46.496

2 Daniel Haglöf Saab 9-3 +0.025

3 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +0.305

4 Fredrik Larsson BMW SR +0.516

5 Richard Göransson Saab 9-3 +0.537

Schedule

Friday 11/9

13:50–14:20 Test 1

16:40–17:10 Test 2

19:30–19:45 Q1

19:50–20:10 Q2

Saturday 12/9

14:45–15:10 Race 1

17:50–18:15 Race 2

Championship standings – Top 5

1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 288 points

2 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 272 (-16)

3 Fredrik Larsson BMW SR 218 (-70)

4 Richard Göransson Saab 9-3 176 (-112)

5 Mattias Andersson Dacia SE 174 (-114)

9 Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60 53 (-235)

TV Schedule

Online/Live: www.svtplay.se

TV: SVT2 13/9 18:00

2015 STCC Calendar

08-09/05 Skövde Airport

29-30/05 Anderstorp

25/06 Mantorp Park

10-11/07 Falkenberg

14-15/08 Karlskoga

11-12/09 Solvalla

25-26/09 Knutstorp

Penalty weights for Solvalla

+50 kg – Thed Björk

+50 kg – Fredrik Ekblom

+10 kg – Fredrik Larsson

+10 kg – Mattias Andersson