One and two in qualifying and one and two finish in the first race
The 2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship season opened this weekend at Mantorp Park. The premiere turned in to a real treat for all Volvo fans. The Volvo team Polestar with drivers Robert Dahlgren and Tommy Rustad took command right away. Dahlgren claimed pole position and Rustad qualified to a second position on the starting grid. The race itself was equally impressive. The Volvo drivers defended their positions through Mantorps infamous start corner and continued to pull away lap after lap. Fourteen laps later, Volvo had a double victory in the bag. Dahlgren won and Rustad took second place.
New rules
STCC has revised the race format for 2009. Each race weekend consists now of two individual 20 minutes races. The grid is also reversed to the second race for the eight top finishers in the first race. Consequently, Rustad and Dahlgren started the second race as seventh and eight on the grid. Rustad executed his fourteen laps according to strategy which meant just time enough to advance to a fourth finish. Dahlgren managed to advance to a sixth place in just a few laps but was then forced to retire with technical problems. The second race was won by Richard Göransson in BMW.
Volvos green 2009 racer shall win on all tracks
This years STCC season is underway and Volvo goes for victory. A goal that is shared by team manager Christian Dahl:
"We have pushed as hard as possible this winter. We have a large number of new components on the car and we have completed a very thorough testing program. We can now see the results. We have definitely taken a big step towards our ultimate goal - to have the speed and set-ups to take pole and win races on all of STCC's race tracks regardless of weather conditions.
Next STCC race weekend, where the third and fourth race of the season will be decided, is May 23 at Karlskoga Motor Stadium. Rest assured, Dahlgren and Rustad will be there chasing new victories in their E85-powered and DRIVe-enhanced C30 racers.
