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Mikael Karlsson wins as team-mates Tobias Brink and Jimmy Eriksson collides

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Mikael Karlsson won a controversial third STCC race of the weekend at Ring Knutstorp as Brink Motorsport team-mates Tobias Brink and Jimmy Eriksson collided in spectacular fashion on the first lap.

Tesla driver Karlsson started from pole and headed the field out of the first corner while Eriksson and Brink went side-by-side through the first couple of corners in the fight for second place.

As they entered the fast “NGK crest”, the two made contact which resulted in a spectacular spin into the barriers for Eriksson while Brink could continue in second place.

The safety car was called into action and the field stopped on the main straight as Eriksson’s Model 3 was recovered.

The race resumed behind the safety car, with Eriksson keeping the lead ahead of Brink and Anton Marklund of PWR Cupra in third who took advantage of the lap one chaos.

Lap six saw Volkswagen driver Alexander Graff making a move on BMW driver Micke Bern down the main straight for fourth place. And things went from bad to worse for Bern as Graff’s team-mate Viktor Gustavsson tried to follow through into Turn 1, resulting in contact and a spin for Bern.

Bern rejoined last while Gustavsson seemed to lose pace after the incident, later dropping down to finish tenth.

Graff tried his best to challenge Cupra Born driver Marklund for third, but had to settle for fourth as former rallycross champion Marklund secured his first STCC podium finish in third.

Brink was close to team-mate Karlsson initially after the safety car restart, but settled down to finish second as Karlsson claimed his first electrified STCC win.

Månz Thalin secured his so far best STCC result in fifth while reigning champion Robert Dahlgren fought his way up to sixth from eleventh place on the grid.

Brink leads the championship by 15 points over Karlsson while Eriksson has dropped to third, 27 points adrift, and Dahlgren to fourth, 31 points behind.

The double win means that Brink Motorsport has secured the team championship title, currently leading with a margin of 154 points over PWR Racing with 104 points still available.

The fourth and final race of the weekend starts at 14:00 CEST.