Fredrik Larsson beats the Volvos to victory in Falkenberg
Fredrik Larsson claimed a dominant victory in the first STCC race of the weekend in Falkenberg, beating Volvo drivers Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk who finished second and third respectively.
The BMW driver started from pole and made an excellent start, heading the field for the rest of the race.
Volvo Polestar Racing driver Ekblom looked strong in the first part of the race and gained on Larsson. But the WestCoast Racing driver increased the pace towards the end of the race, setting the fastest lap of the race, to win by 1.5 seconds.
Ekblom had to defend from Björk on the final couple of laps instead, with the two crossing the finishing line just six tenths apart.
Richard Göransson had a lonely race to finish fourth for Team Tidö, seven seconds from the leaders, with Erik Johansson claiming fifth position for Team Kia, 13 seconds from the leaders.
The fight for sixth position stood between Dacia and BMW with Mattias Andersson managing to fend off Erik Jonsson.
Emelie Liljeström claimed her best ever finish in eighth position while Emma Kimiläinen crossed the line in ninth, finishing the race without the front part of her PWR Racing prepared Saab 9-3 after an earlier incident.
The race had one safety car session as Norwegian Kia driver Kevin Aabol spun into the gravel after trying to get past Andersson for sixth position. Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte also retired after out-braking him self into the first corner, making contact with Daniel Haglöf. The Volvo driver was penalised with a drive through penalty for the incident prior to his retirement from the race due to an overheating engine.
The second STCC race of the day starts at 15:30 CET.
