Richard Göransson was crowned champion of the 2016 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship in the season finale at Knutstorp today, setting two new records. The drivers’ title is his fifth, more than any other driver in the history of the championship, and Polestar Cyan Racing’s fourth consecutive double title, more than any other team in the history of the championship.
”I finally nailed it! Five titles just feels insane. This has been an amazing year, I got the trust of the Polestar Cyan Racing and Volvo family and I delivered. I’m almost lost for words, this has been such a hard fight and now I just want to celebrate it. I feel for Robert as well, he has been a great team-mate and competitor this year,” said Richard Göransson.
Göransson was locked in an intense title fight leading into the season finale with team-mate Robert Dahlgren, with just 16 points separating them. The final qualifying session of 2016 saw even more drama with Dahlgren beating Göransson in Q1 to gain six points in the championship, only for Dahlgren to miss Q2 due to a battery problem as Göransson secured second place on the grid.
Dahlgren started behind Göransson in both races and fought furiously up through the field, finishing third behind Göransson in the first race, still keeping the title hopes alive to the very last race of the year.
A strong start saw Dahlgren fighting his way up to second place from ninth on the grid in the final race, making numerous brave overtaking manoeuvres along the way, including past title rival and team-mate Göransson. Dahlgren had to win the race in order to claim the title, but came 0.927 seconds short from race winner Mattias Andersson when the 20-lap race was over.
”I am deeply disappointed right now. I just want to get a new chance to do Q2 again, then this would have been a completely different story and I just needed one more lap in the race. But I lost too much time in the beginning of the race. I wanted to win the championship, I wanted the gold medal, but it unfortunately didn’t happen. Congratulations to Richard and the entire team, they have done a great job,” said Robert Dahlgren.
Prince Carl Philip had one of his strongest STCC races so far in the first race where he challenged Daniel Haglöf for fifth position, ultimately crossing the line in sixth position.
”I am really pleased with our pace in the first race, the car felt great and I was able to put pressure on the drivers in front of me. Massive congratulations to Richard for the title and a good fight by Robert, we really did get a thrilling season finale,” said Prince Carl Philip.
Polestar Cyan Racing and Volvo has claimed a total of seven drivers’ titles and eight teams’ titles since the start of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship in 1996, with the efforts of Richard Göransson and Robert Dahlgren during the 2016 season further contributing to making it the most successful constellation in the history of the championship.
”We are of course incredibly happy and proud to win both the teams’ and drivers’ championship. We are equally happy with Richard as we are sorry for Robert. Both were really strong and brave in the races. But above all, it was extra rewarding to start and end STCC as winners and the most victorious manufacturer and team,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Driver Titles
1996 STCC – Jan ”Flash” Nilsson – Volvo 850
1997 STCC – Jan ”Flash” Nilsson – Volvo 850
2009 STCC – Tommy Rustad – Volvo C30
2010 STC Cup – Robert Dahlgren – Volvo C30
2012 TTA – Fredrik Ekblom – Volvo S60
2013 STCC – Thed Björk – Volvo S60
2014 STCC – Thed Björk – Volvo S60
2015 STCC – Thed Björk – Volvo S60
2016 STCC – Richard Göransson – Volvo S60
Team Titles
2002 STCC – Jan ”Flash” Nilsson/Edward Sandström
2003 STCC – Jan ”Flash” Nilsson/Magnus Krokström
2009 STCC – Tommy Rustad/Robert Dahlgren
2010 STCC – Tommy Rustad/Robert Dahlgren
2012 TTA – Fredrik Ekblom/Thed Björk
2013 STCC – Thed Björk/Fredrik Ekblom
2014 STCC – Thed Björk/Fredrik Ekblom/Carl Philip Bernadotte
2015 STCC – Thed Björk/Fredrik Ekblom/Carl Philip Bernadotte
2016 STCC – Richard Göransson/Robert Dahlgren/Carl Philip Bernadotte
STCC Knutstorp
Circuit: Knutstorp
Length: 2079 m
Lap record (STCC): 0:58.184, Kristoffersson
Results
Race 1 – Top 5
1 Johan Kristoffersson SEAT León 20 laps
2 Richard Göransson Volvo S60 +0.486
3 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 +7.466
4 Björn Wirdheim Saab 9-3 +21.617
5 Daniel Haglöf SEAT León +23.288
...
6 Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60 +24.206
Race 2 – Top 5
1 Mattias Andersson Dacia SE 20 laps
2 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 +0.927
3 Björn Wirdheim Saab 9-3 +5.936
4 Richard Göransson Volvo S60 +6.498
5 Reuben Kressner Saab 9-3 +9.828
...
DNF Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60
TV Schedule
SVT1 17:00 25/9
Championship standings
Drivers – Top 5
1 Richard Göransson Volvo S60 307 points – Champion!
2 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 300 (-7)
3 Johan Kristoffersson SEAT León 243 (-64)
4 Björn Wirdheim Saab 9-3 220 (-87)
5 Daniel Haglöf SEAT León 206 (-101)
…
10 Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60 78 (-229)
Team – Top 5
1 Polestar Cyan Racing 656 points – Champions!
2 SEAT Dealer Team 512 (-144)
3 Flash Engineering 414 (-242)
4 Dacia Dealer Team 215 (-441)
5 Brovallen Design 127 (-529)
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 seven STCC drivers’ titles and eight STCC teams’ titles with the Volvo 850, S40, C30 and S60.