Tough debute for Volvo C30 in STCC

The Volvo C30, prepared by Polestar Racing, had a difficult debute. The newly developed S2000 car had his first outing in a race, but didn’t have the success the team had hoped for. With problems during qualifying and the race, the team now concentrates on improving the car to show the competition what they are capable of during the next race at Sturup in two weeks.

Tommy Rustad qualified eleventh for the race, but there were technical problems with Robert Dahlgren’s car, which prevented him from participating in the qualifying session. Subsequently, he had to start from the back of the grid in today’s race.

Team manager Christian Dahl explained what happened after qualifying: “We had problem with an uniball that we could not repair during the qualifying session on Dahlgren’s car. It feels a bit heavy, but the car should be ready for the race.”

After hard work from the engineers, the car was ready for the race. However, unfortunately Dahlgren’s race only lasted one lap. Tommy Kristoffersson went off after the first corner and bounced back onto the track. Dahlgren was unable to avoid him and hit him straight on.

“The track was blocked right and left, I locked my brakes but had no chance to stop”, Dahlgren said. “I was just about to select third gear. I was able to brake down to perhaps 140 km/h before I hit Kristoffersson.”

Tommy Rustad’s race started of quite good. He could keep up with the other cars in the top ten, but misfortune struck him, as the hoses for the pitstop gear were not put according to the rules during his pitstop. Rustad received a drive through penalty and dropped back to eleventh place. “It was a shame, I thought I had a good pace”, Rustad said after the race.

“But it is hard in the early stages, we are guessing when it comes to the setup. Bad luck with the drive through, the mechanics have worked flat out with the car for the last couple of weeks, so perhaps its not that strange.”

The team is dissapointed with the result, but stay optimistic for the rest of the season. “I am of course disappointed. I am not disappointed that we did not score any points, I am more disappointed that we could not show our opponents what they will come to fear”, Dahlgren warned his competitors.