The FIA World Touring Car Championship weekend in Russia proved hard but strengthening for Polestar Cyan Racing, facing yet another two races with torrential rain.
”This is the most difficult period as a racing driver in a new programme when we are starting to come close to revealing the true potential of the car, but need to take two steps back in order to move one forward. The situation is quite simple, we need more tests and especially in the wet. We will get that, it is just a matter of time and patience,” said Fredrik Ekblom who finished 12th in the second race.
The weekend started strongly for both Polestar Cyan Racing drivers when the track was dry and Thed Björk was just tenths from the fastest times overall in practice.
The four-time STCC champion faced difficult conditions in both races, with an electrical issue in the first race and being forced to pit in the second race due to loose bodywork after being hit by a competitor on the opening lap.
”This is a weekend to forget in terms of results, but not in terms of what we have learned. We have taken a vital step forward in the wet compared to the wet races in Marrakech. The road is still long to reach what we want with the car, but it will come in time. I’m heading from Russia with strong confidence on that we are on the right path for the remaining season and especially for next year,” said Thed Björk.
The WTCC weekend in Russia was the penultimate one before the summer break, with the team heading to Portugal for the seventh race of the season at the challenging street circuit Vila Real in Portugal on June 25-26.
”We had one of those races that may not look so good in the result sheets, but gave us a lot to be happy about going forward. Bring on the races in Portugal,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
WTCC Race of Russia
Circuit: Moscow Raceway
Length: 3931 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:40.148 (López)
Results
Race 1 – Top 5
1 Gabriele Tarquini Lada Vesta 15 laps
2 Nicky Catsburg Lada Vesta +4.782
3 Yvan Muller Citroën C-Elysée +16.062
4 Hugo Valente Lada Vesta +23.683
5 José María López Citroën C-Elysée +28.092
…
13 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +53.227
DNF Thed Björk Volvo S60
Race 2 – Top 5
1 Nicky Catsburg Lada Vesta 17 laps
2 Gabriele Tarquini Lada Vesta +1.011
3 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +13.681
4 Rob Huff Honda Civic +20.120
5 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +25.497
…
12 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +54.460
15 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +1:19.323
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/
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.
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Volvo Car Group in 2015
Voor het boekjaar 2015 liet Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) een bedrijfswinst optekenen van SEK 6.620 miljoen (EUR 706 miljoen), tegenover SEK 2.128 miljoen (EUR 229 miljoen) in 2014. De omzet voor dit boekjaar bedroeg SEK 164.043 miljoen (EUR 17,5 miljard), tegenover SEK 137.590 miljoen (EUR 14,7 miljard) in 2014. In 2015 verkocht Volvo Car Group wereldwijd 503.127 auto's, ofwel 8% meer dan in 2014. Deze recordcijfers qua omzet en bedrijfswinst betekenen dat Volvo Car Group kan blijven investeren in het wereldwijde transformatieplan.
Over Volvo Car Group
Volvo is actief sinds 1927. Vandaag is Volvo Cars een van de bekendste en meest gerespecteerde automerken ter wereld. In 2015 werden 503 127 Volvo's verkocht in ongeveer 100 landen. Sinds 2010 is Volvo Cars eigendom van Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) uit China. Het bedrijf maakte deel uit van de Zweeds Volvo Group tot 1999, wanneer het werd gekocht door het Amerikaanse Ford Motor Company. In 2010 werd Volvo Cars uiteindelijk overgenomen door Geely Holding.
In december 2015 stelde Volvo Cars wereldwijd meer dan 29.000 medewerkers tewerk. De hoofdzetel, productontwikkeling, marketing en administratie van Volvo Cars zijn grotendeels gevestigd in Göteborg, Zweden. Het hoofdkantoor van Volvo Cars voor China is gevestigd in Shanghai. De grootste autofabrieken van het bedrijf zijn gevestigd in Göteborg (Zweden), Gent (België) en Chengdu (China), terwijl de motoren worden gemaakt in Skövde (Zweden) en Zhangjiakou (China) en de carrosserie-onderdelen in Olofström (Zweden).
