A new challenge at Hungaroring as WTCC weights come into force
Following a historic FIA World Touring Car Championship victory at Monza two weeks ago, Polestar Cyan Racing will face a new challenge at fan-favorite Hungaroring this weekend as the Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 will carry the maximum compensation weight of 80 kilos.
The weight is calculated on the average lap times from the previous races, with the Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 being the fastest car of the field, together with main title rivals Honda.
”I expect a tough but clean fight, especially with Honda as we are on the same weight, but also with the Citroëns. I hope to continue with the same positive feeling that I had at Monza - the car was awesome there. We were strong at Hungaroring last year and I think that we can improve on our results this year,” said Thed Björk.
Thed Björk’s victory at Monza elevated him to second place in the championship, with team-mate Nicky Catsburg in third position despite a tough weekend in Italy.
Nicky commented; “We will be running with full weight that we hopefully will carry for the rest of the season. That might sound unusual but it’s proof that we are the fastest of the field. I think Hungaroring will suit us, although the weather is a bit of a question mark. Rain could change things, but even in the worst conditions, we should still be on the pace. We have the car under control and we are ready for anything.”
Team-mate Néstor Girolami showed strong pace at Monza but was forced into retirement from a podium position after being hit by a competitor and hopes to bounce back this weekend.
“I am not thinking about the weight and my goal for this weekend is to score as many points as possible. It is vital to finish both of the races, I had a retirement at Monza and lost some points. But it is too early to think about the difference in the points between me and the leader. The championship is long and we have a great car that’s fast enough to fight for the title. I will give my 100% in every race,” said Néstor Girolami.
Hungaroring is a demanding circuit when it comes to tyre wear with its twisty layout compared to the previous race at high-speed Monza. The pressure is on Polestar Cyan Racing to continue to deliver.
“There is nothing but hard work for everyone in the team. We are heading to one of the most intense races in terms of Hungarian fans that root for our competitors. We need to keep our cool and deliver. It’s all about scoring points consistently as we have done so far this season,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Follow the team during the Hungaroring weekend with live timing, live commentary and more on our WTCC site: http://wtcc.polestar.com
WTCC Race of Hungary
Circuit: Hungaroring
Length: 4381 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:50.119 (Muller)
Schedule
(Times in CET)
Saturday 13/5
09:00 Free Practice 1 (45 min)
11:30 Free Practice 2 (45 min)
14:00 Qualifying
15:00 MAC3
Sunday 14/5
12:35 Race 1 (12 laps)
13:45 Race 2 (15 laps)
Championship Standings
Drivers’ – Top 5
1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 85 pts
2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 70 (-15)
3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 50 (-35)
4 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 46 (-39)
5 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée 44 (-41)
…
8 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 39 (-46)
Manufacturers’
1 Volvo 198 pts
2 Honda 186 (-12)
Compensation weights
Model – Time difference – Weight
Volvo S60 Polestar – 0.0 sec – +80 kg
Honda Civic – 0.0 sec – +80 kg
Citroën C-Elysée – +0.3 sec – +50 kg
Chevrolet Cruze – +0.8 sec – +0 kg
Lada Vesta +1.6 sec +0 kg
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 WTCC
24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
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 RML Cruze TC1
99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic 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
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.
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Volvo Car Group in 2016
Voor het boekjaar 2016 liet Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) een bedrijfswinst optekenen van 11 miljard SEK (EUR 1,2 miljard), tegenover 6,6 miljard SEK (EUR 697 miljoen) in 2015. De omzet voor dit boekjaar bedroeg 180,7 miljard SEK (EUR 19,1 miljard), tegenover 164,0 miljard SEK (EUR 17,3 miljard) in 2015. In 2016 verkocht Volvo Car Group wereldwijd 534.332 auto's, ofwel 6,2% meer dan in 2015. 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 2016 werden 534.332 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 2016 stelde Volvo Cars wereldwijd meer dan 31.000 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).
