Robert Dahlgren wins in Skövde as Göransson meets a fiery end

Robert Dahlgren won the first round of the 2016 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship at the Skövde airport race, finishing ahead of fast-closing Scott McLaughlin in the sister Volvo S60, while four-time champion Richard Göransson was an early retirement, with his S60 bursting into flames with damage to the rear.

At the start of the race, Linus Ohlsson made a lightning start from fifth on the grid in his Flash Engineering-run Saab 9-3 and was alongside third placed Mattias Andersson’s Dacia into the first corner, but was forced to slot in behind him.

Scott McLaughlin quickly retook the position though in his Volvo, but then made contact with the rear of Andersson’s Dacia at the hairpin, knocking the Dacia into a slide and allowing Ohlsson back up to third, while McLaughlin was able to move ahead into fourth on the road.

Both Göransson and McLaughlin’s cars were now producing smoke from the rear however due to contact, but although the rub on McLaughlin’s car abated, Göransson’s car erupted into flames on lap four and he brought his S60 back into the pits to receive the attention of the fire marshals.

The two PWR Racing SEATs of Daniel Haglöf and Emma Kimiläinen were early retirements, with Haglöf returning to the pits with damage, and Kimiläinen’s car off at the hairpin soon after Göransson’s fire.

On lap ten, McLaughlin, now third following Göransson’s retirement, dispatched Ohlsson’s Saab for second at the hairpin just after the yellow flags were finally cleared after Kimiläinen’s SEAT was removed, with the other SEAT of Johan Kristoffersson repeating the same manoeuvre on Dacia’s Mattias Andersson two laps later to take fourth.

Dahlgren had built a lead up of 7.5 seconds, but McLaughlin was able to close it down during the remaining laps, crossing the line just 1.5 seconds behind at the chequered flag, with the two Volvos some 15 seconds clear of Ohlsson’s Saab.

Dahlgren’s perfect score from qualifying and Race 1 means the Swede leads the championship standings with 50 points over McLaughlin on 36, with Ohlsson third on 23.

The three Volvos, assuming the team are able to repair Göransson’s car, will start eighth, ninth and tenth for the second race of the day which takes place at 15:50 CET.