Lack of testing time and previous track experience meant a frustrating FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) qualifying in Argentina for Polestar Cyan Racing.
Thed Björk was 16th fastest in the Q1 session after missing both practice sessions due to a technical issue regarding the cooling of the engine.
”It was an impossible task to catch up and create a suitable setup after missing both practice sessions. Unfortunately we started in the wrong direction with the setup and there just is not enough time get around it. We are going keep pushing, as frustrating as this is, it is part of the learning process and will help us build a foundation for next year,” said Thed Björk.
Team mate Robert Dahlgren had an equally tough time and qualified 17th fastest, a position he will start from in both races.
”I am of course not happy with the result. We made some changes that unfortunately went the wrong way. We are going to treat both races tomorrow as test sessions to work further with the setup of the car,” said Robert Dahlgren.
Tomorrow features two races of 13 and 14 laps respectively where Björk and Dahlgren have grid positions 16 and 17.
”We are disappointed with the result, but it is important to remain pragmatic and focus on our overall mission for this year that is to build data for the coming years,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Follow Polestar Cyan Racing live during the WTCC weekend in Argentina at premium.fiawtcc.com and wtcc.polestar.com.
WTCC Race of Argentina
Circuit: Termas de Rio Hondo
Length: 4806 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:45.926 (López)
Results
Q1 – Top 5
1 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze 1:42.993
2 José María López Citroën C-Elysée +0.150
3 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +0.501
4 Yvan Muller Citroën C-Elysée +0.508
5 Tom Coronel Chevrolet Cruze +0.539
…
16 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +2.254
17 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 +2.368
Schedule
(Times in CET)
Friday 5/8
23:30 Shakedown (30 min)
Saturday 6/8
13:45 Free Practice 1 (30 min)
16:00 Free Practice 2 (30 min)
20:00 Qualifying (60 min)
Sunday 7/8
19:05 Race 1 (13 laps)
20:20 Race 2 (14 laps)
Championship standings
Drivers
1 José María López Citroën C-Elysée 244 pts
2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 143 (-101)
3 Nicky Catsburg Lada Vesta 139 (-105)
4 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 134 (-110)
5 Yvan Muller Citroën C-Elysée 133 (-111)
…
12 Thed Björk Volvo S60 41 (-203)
13 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 35 (-209)
TV Schedule
International: https://www.fiawtcc.com/watch-it-on-tv/
Online: http://premium.fiawtcc.com
2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship Entry List
No – Driver – Team – Car
2 – Gabriele Tarquini – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC
3 – Tom Chilton – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
5 – Norbert Michelisz – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
7 – Hugo Valente – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
10 – Nicky Catsburg – Lada Sport Rosneft – Lada Vesta WTCC
11 – Grégoire Demoustier – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
12 – Rob Huff – Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team – Honda Civic WTCC
18 – Tiago Monteiro – Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team – Honda Civic WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
27 – John Filippi – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
37 – José María López – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
55 – Ferenc Ficza – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
62 – Thed Björk – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
63 – Robert Dahlgren – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
68 – Yvan Muller – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
77 – René Münnich – Münnich Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
89 – John Bryant-Meisner – Nika Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
99 – Dániel Nagy – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
## – Esteban Guerrieri – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
FIA World Touring Car Championship 2016 Calendar
1-3 April FIA WTCC Race of France (Circuit Paul Ricard)
15-17 April FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia (Slovakia Ring)
22-24 April FIA WTCC Race of Hungary (Hungaroring)
7-8 May FIA WTCC Race of Morocco (Moulay El Hassan, Marrakech) S
26-28 May FIA WTCC Race of Germany (Nürburgring Nordschleife)
10-12 June FIA WTCC Race of Russia (Moscow Raceway)
24-26 June FIA WTCC Race of Portugal (Circ. Internacional de Vila Real) S
5-7 August FIA WTCC Race of Argentina (Circ. Termas de Río Hondo)
2-4 September FIA WTCC Race of Japan (Twin Ring Motegi)
23-25 September FIA WTCC Race of China (Shanghai International Circuit)
4-6 November FIA WTCC Race of Thailand (Chang International Circuit)
23-25 November FIA WTCC Race of Qatar (Losail International Circuit) 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. The company is owned by Christian Dahl and handles all motorsport operations of Polestar. Cyan Racing, formerly named Polestar Racing, has claimed five STCC drivers’ titles and seven STCC teams’ titles with the Volvo 850, S40, C30 and S60.