Press Releases

2017 WTCC season start brings double podium and championship lead for Polestar Cyan Racing

 

Polestar Cyan Racing drivers Thed Björk, Néstor Girolami and Nicky Catsburg secured a double podium finish and a joint World Championship lead for manufacturers in the Morocco season start of the FIA WTCC season.

 

Thed Björk claimed the team’s first WTCC podium finish of 2017 with a strong second place in the first race, just seven tenths of a second from the race winner.

 

“This result is better than I expected, I am so happy to start the season with a podium and to together lead the manufacturers’ championship on a track that should be our toughest of the season. I head back to Sweden with a really good feeling for the rest of the season, it is all about collecting points and we have done just that,” said Thed Björk.

2017 WTCC season start brings double podium and championship lead for Polestar Cyan Racing

Néstor Girolami secured a double podium finish for the team by finishing third in the second race after a tough race on the narrow streets of Marrakech.

 

“It has been a really great start for Polestar Cyan Racing, the team has done a very good job with the car, a vast improvement from last year. I am happy with the weekend, we did not expect this level of result on this circuit, especially as I have never before raced here. Bring on Monza, a track that should suit our car much better,” said Néstor Girolami.

 

Nicky Catsburg impressed on his debut for the team and drove two consistent races, despite being involved in several incidents in the races to finish fourth in the first race and fifth in the second.

 

“I am happy with the weekend. Our MAC3 victory yesterday and a strong result for all us in the races is more than we expected ahead of the weekend. The races here were, as expected, tough and it is difficult to overtake. But I got an okay score of points with me and I look forward to the next race,” said Nicky Catsburg.

 

A double podium finish and a victory in MAC3 has got Polestar Cyan Racing in a joint manufacturers’ points lead with Honda.

 

“We started the season with a difficult away-game given the circuit layout. To leave here with a draw in the points with Honda feels like a half-win and to claim a World Championship lead for Volvo Car Group for the first time since 1927 is fantastic,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

 

Next up for Polestar Cyan Racing is the legendary Monza circuit in Italy on April 29-30th, follow us at: wtcc.polestar.com

 

WTCC Race of Morocco
Circuit: Circuit Moulay El Hassan

 

Results

Race 1

1 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze 20 laps

2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.654

3 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +1.289

4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +1.921

5 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +2.201


9 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +20.858

 

Race 2

1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 23 laps

2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +0.751

3 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +2.120

4 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +2.847

5 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +3.702

7 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +5.073

 

MAC3

 

1 Polestar Cyan Racing 2:51.926

2 Honda Racing Team +0.731

 

Championship Standings

Drivers

1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 43 pts

2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 36 (-7)

3 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 32 (-11)

4 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 25 (-18)

4 Nicky Catbsurg Volvo S60 25 (-18)

4 Thed Björk Volvo S60 25 (-18)

 

Manufacturers

1 Volvo 96 pts

1 Honda 96

 

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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 seven STCC driver titles and eight STCC team titles with the Volvo 850, S40, C30 and S60.

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