The 2015 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship title battle heats up this weekend in the penultimate round of the year at Solvalla in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Championship leader Thed Björk is a hunted man, something the reigning champion is not fazed about.
”Solvalla is a circuit that suits me really well and I have claimed two of three victories for the past two seasons. I feel confident and I know what it takes to win,” said Björk.
Björk’s toughest opponent comes in the form of team mate Fredrik Ekblom, trailing by just ten points ahead of the penultimate race weekend of 2015.
”I had a really good weekend at Karlskoga and I am going to build on that this weekend. It is too soon to look at the points, I am going to get through this weekend first with my usual ambition; to win!” said Ekblom.
Both Ekblom and Björk will carry 50 kilos of penalty weight each, kilos that will hurt on the short and twisty Solvalla circuit.
"There is no doubt that the kilos will affect us this weekend. But no matter, we are prepared for it and will get on with it just as with any other challenge during a race weekend," said Björk.
Solvalla is the home race of Prince Carl Philip who has enjoyed a strong run of results in the past that has seen him climb to ninth position in the championship.
”Solvalla is a challenging circuit and I look forward to it. My feeling of the car has improved a lot over the past couple of races, so I am keen to keep that up this weekend,” said Prince Carl Philip.
The STCC weekend at Solvalla begins tomorrow with testing and qualifying, followed by two races on Saturday afternoon.
STCC Solvalla
Circuit: Solvalla
Length: 1250 m
Lap record (STCC): 0:43.262, Thed Björk (2014)
Schedule
Friday 11/9
13:50–14:20 Test 1
16:40–17:10 Test 2
19:30–19:45 Q1
19:50–20:10 Q2
Saturday 12/9
14:45–15:10 Race 1
17:50–18:15 Race 2
Championship standings – Top 5
1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 270 points
2 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 260 (-10)
3 Fredrik Larsson BMW SR 212 (-58)
4 Richard Göransson Saab 9-3 166 (-104)
5 Mattias Andersson Dacia SE 159 (-111)
…
9 Carl Philip Bernadotte Volvo S60 53 (-217)
TV Schedule
Online/Live: www.svtplay.se
TV: SVT2 13/9 18:00
2015 STCC Calendar
08-09/05 Skövde Airport
29-30/05 Anderstorp
25/06 Mantorp Park
10-11/07 Falkenberg
14-15/08 Karlskoga
11-12/09 Solvalla
25-26/09 Knutstorp
Penalty weights for Solvalla
+50 kg – Thed Björk
+50 kg – Fredrik Ekblom
+10 kg – Fredrik Larsson
+10 kg – Mattias Andersson