Thed Björk expects to have to fight to win from pole in Saturday’s race

The first pole-sitter of the new World Touring Car Cup era, Thed Björk, says the new cars and the different characteristics means it’s likely to be a tough battle this afternoon in order to win the first WTCR race in Morocco.

The 37-year-old Swede was one of the few drivers to improve after BRC Racing’s Norbert Michelisz dropped oil on the racing line half-way through the 40-minute session, placing his car on pole position after leading the way through the first wet practice session.

“It was not easy, as I put the lap together at exactly the right time,” Björk told TouringCarTimes. “Norbi (Michelisz) was fastest before the red flag, and with the oil it took me four laps and I had to manage the tyres to do it, so it cost me more tyres than for Norbi

“I was surprised I managed to do the corner in the oil. The tyres were brand-new and I just got it on the side of the oil, so that’s how I did it, it was very tricky to get it right,” he explained.

Though the Moroccan semi-permanent street circuit isn’t known for promoting the best overtaking, Björk doesn’t expect the late afternoon Saturday’s race will be plain sailing.

“It will be interesting to see how the TCR cars handle this track,” he said. “Starting in front is always good, but there will be a lot of things happening. I think you can pass because the different cars will behave differently during the race. We’re not used to working with these tyres, we don’t know how they will go off in this car, or how they’ll go off in the other cars. For sure, I expect it not to be a train, but we’ll see.”