Polestar Cyan Racing take leap forward in Nürburgring Nordschleife qualifying

Björk and Ekblom fought changeable weather conditions, punctures and technical issues in testing leading up to qualifying.

The reigning STCC champion, Björk, then posted his fastest ever lap in the Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race car on his very last lap in qualifying to claim seventh position on the grid, averaging over 170 km/h.

”I am quite happy with my lap. I made a mistake on the GP circuit, but I made good progress on the Nordschleife. We have still got a massive amount of work left ahead of us with the setup of the car, but this is definitely a big step in the right direction and a confidence booster ahead of the race,” said Björk.

Team mate Ekblom had a far from ideal start to the Nürburgring weekend, being forced to change engine after a misfire issue in testing, meaning vital time lost and having to start last in the first race. Ekblom claimed the eleventh fastest time of the session.

”Obviously I am disappointed to miss so much time in testing, especially at the Nordschleife where it is all about getting as many laps as possible to get into rhythm. But everyone in the team has fought really hard to move forward and overcome the issues. With all this in mind, I would say that his was an okay qualifying result and we are going to continue pushing forward,” said Ekblom.

The race weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, named ”The Green Hell” by F1 legend Jackie Stewart, is the toughest challenge of the WTCC season for the team, facing a fearsome 25 kilometre circuit with 170 corners and an elevation change of over 300 meters.

”The team is thrown into one challenge bigger than the other, just weeks after completing the first four races in five weeks and they are again delivering strongly. This is such a unique circuit where it is all about finding a very specific setup, so this is very much about laying a foundation for next year,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

Two races will be held tomorrow of 75 kilometres each with the first one starting at 11:20 CET and the second at 12:45, meaning just 10 minutes between the races and a hectic time for the team to prepare the cars.

WTCC Race of Germany

Circuit: Nürburgring Nordschleife

Length: 25278 m

Lap record (WTCC): 8:37.327 (López)

Results

Qualifying – Top 5

1 José María López Citroën C-Elysée 8:35.541

2 Yvan Muller Citroën C-Elysée +3.573

3 Tom Coronel Chevrolet Cruze +4.526

4 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +5.037

5 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée +5.622

…

7 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +5.941

11 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +9.981

Schedule

(Times in CET)

Saturday 28/5

11:20 Race 1 (3 laps)

12:45 Race 2 (3 laps)

Championship standings

Drivers

1 José María López Citroën C-Elysée 138 pts

2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 124 (-14)

3 Rob Huff Honda Civic 98 (-40)

4 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 85 (-53)

5 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 83 (-55)

…

12 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 20 (-118)

13 Thed Björk Volvo S60 19 (-119)

TV Schedule

International: https://www.fiawtcc.com/watch-it-on-tv/

Online: http://www.eurosportplayer.com/

About Polestar

Polestar is the performance brand of Volvo Cars. The company was founded as a motorsport team in 1996 and has been successful in numerous championships, racing with various Volvo models. In 2009, Polestar started to offer performance related products and thereby intensified the business relations with Volvo Cars. The first performance cars, based on Volvo’s S60 and V60, were launched in 2014.

In 2015, Volvo Cars acquired the performance unit of Polestar, as a strong commitment towards a credible performance offer and with the mission to define future premium performance.

About Cyan Racing

Cyan Racing is the motorsport partner to Polestar. The company is owned by Christian Dahl and handles all motorsport operations of Polestar. Cyan Racing, formerly named Polestar Racing, has claimed five STCC drivers’ titles and seven STCC teams’ titles with the Volvo 850, S40, C30 and S60.