Polestar Cyan Racing will field an all-Swedish driver line-up in the 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship with multiple touring car champions Thed Björk and Fredrik Ekblom signing multi-year contracts with the team.
”We have an ideal line-up with Thed and Fredrik for the first year of our new WTCC assault. Both are solid on outright speed, race craft and they are extremely well aligned in-between and with the engineering team regarding catching up with quickest in the championship,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar, the performance brand of Volvo Cars.
The Swedish duo together represents 12 major titles, over 100 race victories and experience from international championships like DTM, ETCC, Le Mans and F3000.
Björk most recently secured a record-breaking third straight STCC title for Polestar Cyan Racing.
”To begin a new chapter of racing with Polestar Cyan Racing and Sweden in a world championship is a dream come true. This is the most excited and motivated I have been for a season in my entire career. I have no doubt we have what it takes to work our way to the top fight and the season start cannot come soon enough,” said Björk.
Ekblom was Björk’s main rival to the 2015 STCC title and is one of the most successful touring car drivers from Sweden with three STCC titles to his tally.
”To race in the WTCC has been my goal ever since joining Polestar Cyan Racing in 2012 and I am proud to represent the team in a world championship. We have an amazing journey ahead of us and I will put everything to it. While we have a lot of development work ahead of us to catch up with the front-runners, we will be pushing hard from the first race,” said Ekblom.
Both drivers are part of the on-going development programme of the new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race car, work that will continue to the season start in March 2016.
”Thed and Fredrik are two of the very best touring car drivers in the world and they have achieved remarkable results for us in the past. Both of them have played a vital part in the development of our new race car and I am keen to see them start our journey towards the top of the FIA World Touring Car Championship,” said Christian Dahl, CEO of Cyan Racing.
Polestar Cyan Racing driver Robert Dahlgren, who will race for the team in the 2016 STCC, will continue to be a part of the WTCC development programme.
Facts – Thed Björk
Lives: Karlskoga, Sweden
Born: 14 December 1980
Private car: Volvo V60 Polestar
History:
2015 – STCC – Champion
2014 – STCC – Champion
2013 – STCC – Champion
2012 – TTA – 3rd
2011 – Camaro Cup Sweden – Champion
2009 – STCC – 2nd
2008 – STCC – 3rd
2006 – STCC – Champion
2005 – STCC – 2nd
2003 – GTR Sweden – Champion
2001 – FIA Sportscar SR2 Class – Champion
1999 – F3 Sweden & Nordic – Champion
Facts – Fredrik Ekblom
Lives: Kumla, Sweden
Born: 6 October 1970
Private car: Volvo V60 Polestar
History:
2015 – STCC – 2nd
2014 – STCC – 3rd
2012 – TTA – Champion
2011 – STCC – 2nd
2010 – STCC – 3rd
2008 – STCC – 2nd
2008 – Nürburgring 24-hours – S1 class winner
2007 – STCC – Champion
2004 – STCC – 3rd
2003 – STCC – Champion
2002 – ETCC – 6th
2000 – STCC – 2nd
1999 – STCC – 2nd
1998 – STCC – Champion
1991 – F3000 UK – 2nd
1990 – F3 Sweden – 2nd
Note to editors:
What is Polestar and Cyan Racing?
Polestar is the performance brand of Volvo Cars. Cyan Racing is the official motorsport partner to Polestar. Volvo Cars has acquired Polestar Performance AB, which comprises a range of performance products including performance engineered cars and performance drivetrain optimisations. Volvo has not acquired the racing division of Polestar, now named Cyan Racing and still owned by Christian Dahl.
Where will Polestar Cyan Racing compete in 2016?
Polestar Cyan Racing will compete in the 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship, the 2016 V8 Supercars and the 2016 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.
What is the WTCC?
WTCC stands for the World Touring Car Championship and is one of five officially FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the sanctioning body of international motorsport) sanctioned world championships of racing. The championship runs across the globe and features heavily modified standard cars from manufacturers like Citroën, Chevrolet and Honda. The championship runs for 12 race weekends with two race heats per weekend each season on tracks like Shanghai International Circuti in China and the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. The season starts in March and ends in November, further information is available at www.fiawtcc.com.