Robert Dahlgren to enter Polestar Cyan Racing's WTCC programme

”I am honoured to get this opportunity and the feeling is of course awesome, especially as I have been a part of this programme since the start with our evaluation season in 2011, as well as the development of the new car this year,” said Robert Dahlgren.

The driver change comes in preparation for 2017 and Ekblom will continue to be a part of the WTCC development programme that is being run alongside the race weekends.

”Our main objective with the WTCC project this year is to prepare for 2017, using two cars and three drivers. As a part of this plan, Robert will switch with Fredrik and join Thed for the part that is done during the race weekends. Needless to say our plan and three drivers have all delivered beyond expectations so far, delivering several top five finishes this early in our first season. We are confident it works and we are continuing with the next phase in our plan,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

Dahlgren, who has driven for the team since 2004, will join Thed Björk as team mate at the challenging street circuit in Vila Real, Portugal, this weekend.

”I am very glad to have Robert as team mate again and to keep my cooperation with Fredrik in the development work in-between the races. The Vila Real races is something I am absolutely looking forward to, it seems to be such a challenging circuit and I absolutely love street circuits,” said Thed Björk.

Dahlgren will continue his STCC programme alongside the WTCC programme, a possible replacement for the final two clashing STCC races will be announced later this year.

WTCC Race of Portugal

Circuit: Circuito International de Vila Real

Length: 4785 m

Lap record (WTCC): 2:00.873 (López)

Schedule

(Times in CET)

Friday 24/6

12:30 Testing (30 min)

Saturday 25/6

09:00 Free Practice 1 (30 min)

11:00 Free Practice 2 (30 min)

14:00 Qualifying (60 min)

Sunday 26/6

15:05 Race 1 (13 laps)

16:15 Race 2 (14 laps)

Championship standings

Drivers

1 José María López Citroën C-Elysée 223 pts

2 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 118 (-105)

2 Nicky Catsburg Lada Vesta 118 (-105)

4 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 112 (-111)

5 Yvan Muller Citroën C-Elysée 109 (-114)

…

12 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 35 (-188)

13 Thed Björk Volvo S60 27 (-196)

TV Schedule

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

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

2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship Entry List

No – Driver – Team – Car

2 – Gabriele Tarquini – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC

3 – Tom Chilton – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

5 – Norbert Michelisz – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC

7 – Hugo Valente – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC

9 – Tom Coronel – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1

10 – Nicky Catsburg – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC

11 – Grégoire Demoustier – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

12 – Rob Huff – Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team – Honda Civic WTCC

18 – Tiago Monteiro – Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team – Honda Civic WTCC

25 – Mehdi Bennani – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

27 – John Filippi – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1

37 – José María López – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

55 – Ferenc Ficza – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

62 – Thed Björk – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1

63 – Robert Dahlgren – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1

68 – Yvan Muller – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

77 – René Münnich – Münnich Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1

89 – John Bryant-Meisner – Nika Racing – Chevrolet Cruze WTCC

99 – Dániel Nagy – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

FIA World Touring Car Championship 2016 Calendar

1-3 April FIA WTCC Race of France (Circuit Paul Ricard)

15-17 April FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia (Slovakia Ring)

22-24 April FIA WTCC Race of Hungary (Hungaroring)

7-8 May FIA WTCC Race of Morocco (Moulay El Hassan, Marrakech) S

26-28 May FIA WTCC Race of Germany (Nürburgring Nordschleife)

10-12 June FIA WTCC Race of Russia (Moscow Raceway)

24-26 June FIA WTCC Race of Portugal (Circ. Internacional de Vila Real) S

5-7 August FIA WTCC Race of Argentina (Circ. Termas de Río Hondo)

2-4 September FIA WTCC Race of Japan (Twin Ring Motegi)

23-25 September FIA WTCC Race of China (Shanghai International Circuit)

4-6 November FIA WTCC Race of Thailand (Chang International Circuit)

23-25 November FIA WTCC Race of Qatar (Losail International Circuit) N

S = Street race

N = Night Race

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.