The Polestar Cyan Racing drivers beat main rivals Honda in a vital qualifying session at Hungaroring for the third FIA World Touring Car Championship race weekend of 2017.
Nicky Catsburg claimed the fourth fastest time in Q3 after being strong on pace in the previous sessions, despite changeable weather conditions with rain during practice and a drying track during qualifying.
“We did a good job by beating Honda in our first qualifying session with full compensation weight. I did a mistake in the last sector on my lap in Q3, but I am happy to be in the top five and we are in a good position for the races tomorrow,” said Nicky Catsburg.
Néstor Girolami was fifth fastest in Q3 but suffered from a vibration issue in the following MAC3 session, meaning a loss to Honda but still scoring equal manufacturer points.
“The car was really good before I got a problem with vibrations. I am really happy with the balance of the car, we did many changes to the setup before qualifying that worked really well. The team has done a good job and I am quite confident for tomorrow,” said Néstor Girolami.
Thed Björk had a tough qualifying session, finishing eighth in Q2, missing out of the Q3 session. Eighth however means third on the grid for the reversed grid race.
“I am not happy with the balance of the car and we are going to work hard to adjust it for tomorrow. Third on the grid for the first race is still good. I am going to fight hard as usual to get as much points as possible, consistency is the key and I am looking forward for the races tomorrow,” said Thed Björk.
Beating the Honda drivers in the qualifying session but losing to them in MAC3 means equal points from the day, 17 for both manufacturers, and a maintained difference of 12 points in favor of Volvo.
”It was really important for us to beat Honda in qualifying and that is what we bring with us from today. We didn’t deliver in MAC3, but with the overall result in mind, a rather good day for us,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Follow the team in the two races tomorrow at Hungaroring 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)
Results
Q1 – Top 5
1 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 1:48.995
2 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +0.003
3 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.076
4 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.116
5 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze +0.236
…
6 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.434
Q2 – Top 5
1 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée 1:48.494
2 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze +0.125
3 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +0.191
4 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +0.261
5 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.328
…
8 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.609
Q3
1 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée 1:48.264
2 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +0.327
3 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze +0.632
4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +0.677
5 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +1.410
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 52 (-33)
4 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée 49 (-36)
5 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 46 (-39)
…
8 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 40 (-45)
Manufacturers’
1 Volvo 215 pts
2 Honda 203 (-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 – +0.2 sec – +60 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
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.
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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).
