The 2010 STCC season soon ready to take off
Film report from the preseason test in Spain with the Volvo team Polestar
April 25 marks the date for the premiere race in this years' Swedish Touring Car Championship. Volvo Cars and Polestar are defending champions after winning both the drivers' and team championship in 2009.
Leading up to the 2010 season, Volvo Car Corporation extended the contract with its team Polestar throughout 2012 and the parties are now ramping up the preparations for the season. A new 2010 edition of the ethanol powered, DRIVe enhanced C30 racer is taking form and the new car was put to thorough and rigorous tests last week in Guadix, Spain.
"We had a very good week. We were able to do our test exactly as planned, not halted by neither bad weather nor technical issues. We could also confirm several new technical ideas on speed," says Christian Dahl, Team Manager for the Volvo team Polestar.
As the new Volvo racer is developing, so is the Championship. This year is the last season where STCC is Swedish. In 2011 STCC will become the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. As a first step, two races in the 2010 calendar will take place in Denmark.
Two major changes in the sporting regulations are also introduced. STCC adopts the FIA Formula 1 point system where the winner gets not 10 but 25 points for a win - 7 points more than the second finisher compared to last years 2 points difference between first and second.
The individual driver penalty weights system with more weight the better the result, is scrapped. Instead, the fastest driver in a specific car model will set the weight for all cars of the same type.
Volvo is now only a month away from its 17th consecutive racing. Its team Polestar and drivers Tommy Rustad and Robert Dahlgren will sport a new car, new tracks, a new points and weight system.
Dahlgren, fresh back from Spain with over 400 testing laps, has already his special take on the season ahead:
"We have a fantastic season ahead of us. The new sporting regulations will push drivers to go for a win every time. The audience will see battles for positions all the way through the last inch of the last lap. As a driver, it will also be even more important to know and have confidence in the material. I think we are heading for one of the most exiting STCC seasons ever."
Watch the film from the test in Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pysC5a0x02E
STCC 2010 Calendar
| Jyllandsringen, Denmark | April 24-25 |
| Ring Knutstorp, Sweden | May 7-8 |
| Karlskoga, Sweden | May 21-22 |
| Gothenburg, Sweden | June 4-5 |
| Falkenberg, Sweden | July 9-10 |
| Karlskoga, Sweden | August 13-14 |
| Jyllandsringen, Denmark | September 4-5 |
| Ring Knutstorp, Sweden | September 17-18 |
| Mantorp Park, Sweden | October 1-2 |
