STCC + DTC = Scandinavian Championship

The Swedish Touring Car Championship and Danish Touring Car Championship are planning to join forces to a Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.
“Our vision is to merge STCC and DTC to form a Scandinavian championship. We believe that it is something that would benefit all involved in the long run,” said Bob Huzell, MD of STCC, to TouringCarTimes.com.

The merger of the two series is planned to be done over a three year period and DTC MD Peter Elgaard shares Huzell’s enthusiasm over the new plans.

“We want to create the real feeling of national rivalry when the best Danish and Swedish teams and drivers fight together,” said Elgaard.

Next year STCC and DTC are going to run four races together. Both series will have an individual calendar, but a Scandinavian Cup will be formed for the merged four races that are included in the regular calendars of STCC and DTC.

“This is the first step. Alongside the Swedish and Danish championships, a Scandinavian champion will be crowned in 2010 after the four races,” said Huzell.

All cars of both series will run in the same race and under the same regulations in the four merged races. But STCC drivers will, for example, not take points in the DTC, only in the STCC and the Scandinavian Cup.

There has been criticism expressed among the competitors of both series that the results of the races will be confusing and that the number of entries could be a problem on smaller tracks such as Gothenburg.

“We realize that there will be some difficulties, but that is inevitable during a transition period. We are going to do the best possible of the situation,” said Huzell.

The second step for both championships is a complete merger in 2011, forming the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.

“Our ambition is to have one championship in 2011 and then expand further in 2012 to countries like Norway, Finland and the Baltic countries,” said Eric Olsson, chairman of STCC AB.

Both STCC and DTC have suffered from shrinking fields and fewer teams in recent years. Huzell believes that a Scandinavian Championship can hinder this development.

“What the Scandinavian touring car scene needs is stability, both in form of the organization and the rules. Instead of a number of different championships going in different directions, one merged championship would benefit all in our opinion,” said Huzell.

“More and more companies today are operating in more than one country. A Scandinavian championship provides a much larger platform for both sponsors and teams.

Another positive side is that the competition between the team increases which provides better and more exciting racing for the fans,” said Huzell.

Both STCC and DTC have agreed on continuing with S2000 as regulations for the cars for the coming two years. But there has been no decision yet on the rules for 2012.

“We are looking at three different options: S2000, NGTC and a completely new set of rules. We want rules that provide for more spectacular cars. But there is no decision taken yet, we are working hard on it right now,” said Olsson.

The V8 plans that the DTC organisation put forward earlier have been put on hold. The DTC organisation, with Peter Elgaard in front, is working closely with STCC for the future.

“Elgaard and the entire DTC organisation has given us a very good impression and it feels very exciting to work with them for the future,” said Huzell.

STCC+DTC races 2010

24-25/4 Jyllandsringen*
4-5/6 Göteborg*
4-5/9 Jyllandsringen
17-18/9 Knutstorp