Thed Björk – next Swede to DTM?

Thed Björk made his DTM debut last weekend during the penultimate DTM-round of the year at Le Mans. The tall Swede finished 14:th for Futurecom TME team. Björk joined Audi Sweden this year and immediately proved his skills by taking the STCC title. Björk is in the same position as Mattias Ekström was in a couple of years ago.

“Actually he is in a better position than when Ekström left us for DTM,” Kristoffersson Motorsport (the official STCC Audi team) team boss Tommy Kristoffersson said.

Ekström joined the semi official ABT-Audi team for the DTM 2001 season when he was 23 years old. Ekström won the STCC two years earlier for Audi and Kristoffersson Motorsport.

“Thed is only 25 years old but has already won the STCC and a FIA Sports car Championship (the SR2 class in 2001). We have been promoting Thed’s chances to move on to the DTM since the spring,” Kristoffersson said.

The opportunity for Björk to drive the DTM race at Le Mans came quickly. Nicolas Kiesa was injured and needed a replacement quick. On the Thursday before the race weekend Björk got a telephone call and immediately left for the airport. After the race Björk have received a lot of media attention. TouringCarTimes got hold of the man over a crackling cellular phone connection.

What do you think of your DTM debut?

“I think it went great. I had the goal to finish the race – I did. The practice sessions went really well, I was third fastest in the first session. Qualifying could have gone better, but it was ok,” Björk said.

You had an incident with Mücke, what happened?

“Well, he must have thought that I really was a rookie. He misjudged the situation. I looked in my rear view mirror when I started to brake for the corner; at that point he was very far behind. He just locked up his wheels and turned straight in to me. Fortunately I was able to continue.”

How was it to race in DTM compared to STCC?

“This was a dream coming true. It was furious and tough racing, cars everywhere with experienced and tough drivers. It was awesome doing the start with a real race car. The STCC cars are much more like the standard ones, the DTM car is built like a F1-car.”

Compare the DTM Audi to your STCC Audi!

“The cars are like night and day. More power, more grip, less weight.”

Will you drive the final race at Hockenheim?

“I don’t know. There is a possibility for sure, Audi was happy with my performance. But at least I hope the decision comes a bit earlier before the race,” Björk said with a smile.

A full time DTM drive next year?

“It is too early to say anything yet. But I want to stay with Audi, which is matter of course. DTM is my goal but we have to wait and see.”