Thed Björk wrote history in the FIA WTCC qualifying session at Monza in Italy by claiming the maiden World Championship pole position for himself, Polestar Cyan Racing and Volvo Cars.
The four-time STCC champion claimed pole in style, beating championship leader Tiago Monteiro of main rival team Honda by over three tenths of a second.
“I am over the moon with this result, my Q3 lap was really on the limit and when I saw my gap to second place, I was so pleased. There have only been 25 drivers claiming pole position in the WTCC and I am proud to join them. This is no doubt promising for tomorrow’s both races,” said Thed Björk.
The pole position was followed by Polestar Cyan Racing’s second straight MAC3 victory where all three drivers set a joint lap time, beating the Honda drivers by over two seconds.
“We have seen all weekend that the cars have done well here at Monza and this is a very good receipt on a great work by the team and the drivers to claim this historic result. The goal for tomorrow is of course to claim a victory and lead the manufacturers’ championship when leaving the track,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Nicky Catsburg was fourth fastest in Q3, despite losing vital time in practice due to technical issues.
“It is fantastic that all three of us were in Q3 and big congrats to Thed to claim pole. I made a mistake on my Q3 lap that should have been faster. But we executed MAC3 great, I am very happy with that. I bettered my lap from Q3 by far in MAC3 that promises good for tomorrow,” said Nicky Catsburg.
Néstor Girolami made it to Q3 as well, marking the first time ever with all three Polestar Cyan Racing drivers in Q3, but made a mistake to finish fifth.
“The goal for the team was to win Q3 and MAC3 and we did just that. I made a mistake in Q3 and got oversteer, forcing me to abort my lap. Sometimes when you push hard you lose some and today could have been better for me, but it was okay in total,” said Néstor Girolami.
Follow the team during the two races tomorrow at Monza with live timing, live commentary and more on our new WTCC site: http://wtcc.polestar.com
WTCC Race of Italy
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Length: 5793 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:59.000 (Huff)
Results
Q1 – Top 5
1 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 1:52.218
2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.056
3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.186
4 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.536
5 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.704
Q2 – Top 5
1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 1:52.202
2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.183
3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.205
4 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.286
5 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.321
Q3
1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 1:52.505
2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.316
3 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.463
4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.508
5 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +4.821
MAC3
1 Volvo 3:53.448
2 Honda +2.004
Schedule
(Times in CET)
Saturday 29/4
09:00 Free Practice 1 (45 min)
12:00 Free Practice 2 (45 min)
14:15 Qualifying
15:25 MAC3
Sunday 30/4
12:15 Race 1 (9 laps)
14:15 Race 2 (11 laps)
Championship Standings
Drivers’ – Top 5
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 47 pts
2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 36 (-11)
3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 30 (-17)
3 Thed Björk Volvo S60 30 (-17)
5 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 26 (-21)
5 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 26 (-21)
Manufacturers’
1 Volvo 116 pts
2 Honda 108 (-8)
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 WTCC
5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
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 – Kevin Gleason – USA – 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
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.