Scott McLaughlin will substitute for Prince Carl Philip at Polestar Cyan Racing in the opening round of the 2016 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship this weekend.
”I am looking forward to go to Sweden again for my second visit, this time I will be driving a race car which is exactly what I want to do,” said McLaughlin who visited the team in 2014.
Prince Carl Philip will miss the first STCC race of the 2016 season due to the 70th birthday of his father King Carl XVI Gustaf, as well as having become a father himself in the past week.
”Warm congratulations from all of us at Polestar Cyan Racing to Prince Carl Philip and while we are sorry to miss him for the first race, Scott is a young and promising racing talent who has done a great job in Australia. We are delighted to have him with us for the first race and he will certainly face a tough challenge with so limited time in the STCC car, but we are confident in his abilities to adapt,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
McLaughlin, 22 years old from New Zealand, is currently racing for Volvo Cyan Racing and Volvo Car Australia in the Australian V8 Supercars, one of the toughest touring car championships in the world, most recently claiming a double victory at the fast and challenging Phillip Island circuit.
McLaughlin will join regular STCC drivers Robert Dahlgren and Richard Göransson in Polestar Cyan Racing’s third Volvo S60 Polestar STCC at the Skövde Airport Race on May 1st.
”I am just looking forward to the challenge and will try to do a good job for the prince of Sweden who I am subbing in for. I am really excited to join my old team-mate Robert Dahlgren in the STCC with Polestar Cyan Racing. Hopefully we will come away with a podium, that would be great,” said McLaughlin.
Prince Carl Philip will return for the second race at Mantorp Park on May 26th and for the remainder of the season.