Polestar Cyan Racing drivers Thed Björk, Néstor Girolami and Nicky Catsburg secured a double podium finish and a joint World Championship lead for manufacturers in the Morocco season start of the FIA WTCC season.
Thed Björk claimed the team’s first WTCC podium finish of 2017 with a strong second place in the first race, just seven tenths of a second from the race winner.
“This result is better than I expected, I am so happy to start the season with a podium and to together lead the manufacturers’ championship on a track that should be our toughest of the season. I head back to Sweden with a really good feeling for the rest of the season, it is all about collecting points and we have done just that,” said Thed Björk.
Néstor Girolami secured a double podium finish for the team by finishing third in the second race after a tough race on the narrow streets of Marrakech.
“It has been a really great start for Polestar Cyan Racing, the team has done a very good job with the car, a vast improvement from last year. I am happy with the weekend, we did not expect this level of result on this circuit, especially as I have never before raced here. Bring on Monza, a track that should suit our car much better,” said Néstor Girolami.
Nicky Catsburg impressed on his debut for the team and drove two consistent races, despite being involved in several incidents in the races to finish fourth in both races and being the best placed Polestar Cyan Racing driver in the championship.
“I am happy with the weekend. Our MAC3 victory yesterday and a strong result for all us in the races is more than we expected ahead of the weekend. The races here were, as expected, tough and it is difficult to overtake. But I got an okay score of points with me and I look forward to the next race,” said Nicky Catsburg.
A double podium finish and a victory in MAC3 has got Polestar Cyan Racing in a joint manufacturers’ points lead with Honda.
“We started the season with a difficult away-game given the circuit layout. To leave here with a draw in the points with Honda feels like a half-win and to claim a World Championship lead for Volvo Car Group for the first time since 1927 is fantastic,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Next up for Polestar Cyan Racing is the legendary Monza circuit in Italy on April 29-30th, follow us at: wtcc.polestar.com
WTCC Race of Morocco
Circuit: Circuit Moulay El Hassan
Length: 2971 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:23.087 (Valente)
Results
Race 1 – Top 5
1 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze 20 laps
2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.654
3 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +1.289
4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +1.921
5 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +2.201
…
9 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +20.858
Race 2 – Top 5
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 23 laps
2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +0.751
3 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +2.120
4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +3.702
5 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée +4.519
…
7 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +5.073
Q1 – Top 5
1 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 1:22.161
2 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.110
3 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.301
4 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.440
5 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.543
…
6 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.559
Q2 – Top 5
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 1:21.822
2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +0.137
3 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.253
4 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +0.714
5 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.746
…
6 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.870
7 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.975
Q3
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 1:21.792
2 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.239
3 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +0.305
4 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.517
5 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +0.620
MAC3
1 Polestar Cyan Racing 2:51.926
2 Honda Racing Team +0.731
Championship Standings
Drivers’
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 43 pts
2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 36 (-7)
3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 28 (-15)
4 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 26 (-17)
5 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 25 (-18)
5 Thed Björk Volvo S60 25 (-18)
Manufacturers’
1 Volvo 96 pts
1 Honda 96
TV Schedule
https://www.fiawtcc.com/watch-it-on-tv/
http://www.eurosportplayer.com/
2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship Entry List
No – Driver – Team – Car
3 – Tom Chilton – GBR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée
5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic
8 – Aurélien Panis – FRA – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – NED – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
12 – Rob Huff – GBR – Münnich Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
18 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic
25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée
27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée
34 – Ryo Michigami – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
61 – Néstor Girolami – ARG – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
62 – Thed Björk – SWE – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
63 – Nicky Catsburg – NED – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
68 – Yann Ehrlacher – FRA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
86 – Esteban Guerrieri – ARG – Campos Racing – Chevrolet Cruze TC1
99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
TBC – TBC – TBC – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
FIA World Touring Car Championship 2017 Calendar
WTCC Race of Morocco (Marrakech): 7-9 April S
WTCC Race of Italy (Monza): 28-30 April 2017
WTCC Race of Hungary (Hungaroring): 12-14 May
WTCC Race of Germany (Nürburgring Nordschleife): 25-27 May
WTCC Race of Portugal (Vila Real): 23-25 June S
WTCC Race of Argentina (Termas de Río Hondo): 15-16 July
WTCC Race of China (Shanghai Ningbo Circuit): 13-15 October
WTCC Race of Japan (Twin Ring Motegi): 27-29 October
WTCC Race of Macau (Circuit de Guia): 17-19 November S
WTCC Race of Qatar (Losail International Circuit): 30 November-1 December N
S = Street race
N = Night Race
Contact Details
Johan Meissner, Press Manager
+46(0)70 241 3234
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 was founded as a motorsport team in 1996 and has been successful in numerous championships. 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.