Polestar Racing 2013
Geplaatst: 12.04.2013 - 13:25
Volvo Polestar Racing has unveiled its 2013 STCC program at the yearly presentation for partners and employees at the Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg.
"We started racing in the STCC 17 years ago and we are very happy to return again as STCC and TTA have united. That is why we are pushing extra hard this year and Volvo Polestar Racing features its strongest line-up ever. We are ready for the 2013 STCC," said Derek Crabb, Motorsport Director of Volvo Cars.
New for this season in that the racing cars have been updated to the new Volvo S60 of model year 2014.
"We have tested the new cars in the Volvo wind tunnel with good results. We are well prepared for the season," said Fredrik Wahlén, Team Manager of Volvo Polestar Racing.
Five drivers races for Volvo in this year's STCC in three different teams: Volvo Polestar Racing with Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk, Volvo Polestar Performance with Robert Dahlgren and Linus Ohlsson and Volvo Polestar with Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte.
The three different teams have their own unique design where Prince Carl Philip has done the design for his car.
"Design is something I am passionate about and to combine that with my racing is of course great. I am looking forward to the coming season together with my team mates," said Prince Carl Philip.
Volvo Polestar Racing secured a Grand Slam last year with all three titles for drivers, teams and manufacturers. Fredrik Ekblom, who is a three-time Swedish champion, secured the drivers title in 2012 and is aiming for a new gold.
"Last year was a dream season and the joy is still there after our great Grand Slam. We face an even stronger challenge this year new competing drivers and teams. It is not going to be easy in any way, but we are for sure aiming for a new Grand Slam. The conditions are there for it, no doubt," said Fredrik Ekblom.
Other news ahead of this season is that half of the race weekends is going to feature the traditional STCC format with two races of 20 minutes each. The remaining four races features a single race of 40 minutes. Qualifying has also been changed to a system similar to Formula 1 with three different sessions (Q1 to Q3) where the five fastest driver gets to decide the grid for the race in the final session (Q3).
The STCC season starts on the 4th of May at Knutstorp in the south of Sweden, a track where Volvo holds the record of most number of victories. The season continues with a further seven races at tracks like Solvalla in Stockholm, home track Gothenburg City Arena and the season finale at Mantorp Park on the 21st of September.
Do not miss the video from the launch.
See more pictures from the launch in our gallery.
Follow Volvo Polestar Racing for the 2013 STCC season at www.polestar.com.
Calendar 2013 STCC
04/05 Knutstorp**
08/06 Solvalla*
29/06 Göteborg*
13/07 Falkenberg**
10/08 Östersund*
24/08 Karlskoga**
07/09 Tierp Arena*
21/09 Mantorp Park**
* = One race
** = Two races
Team Line-up
Volvo Polestar Racing
#11 Fredrik Ekblom
#12 Thed Björk
Volvo Polestar Performance
#14 Robert Dahlgren
#15 Linus Ohlsson
Volvo Polestar
#13 Carl Philip Benadotte
"We started racing in the STCC 17 years ago and we are very happy to return again as STCC and TTA have united. That is why we are pushing extra hard this year and Volvo Polestar Racing features its strongest line-up ever. We are ready for the 2013 STCC," said Derek Crabb, Motorsport Director of Volvo Cars.
New for this season in that the racing cars have been updated to the new Volvo S60 of model year 2014.
"We have tested the new cars in the Volvo wind tunnel with good results. We are well prepared for the season," said Fredrik Wahlén, Team Manager of Volvo Polestar Racing.
Five drivers races for Volvo in this year's STCC in three different teams: Volvo Polestar Racing with Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk, Volvo Polestar Performance with Robert Dahlgren and Linus Ohlsson and Volvo Polestar with Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte.
The three different teams have their own unique design where Prince Carl Philip has done the design for his car.
"Design is something I am passionate about and to combine that with my racing is of course great. I am looking forward to the coming season together with my team mates," said Prince Carl Philip.
Volvo Polestar Racing secured a Grand Slam last year with all three titles for drivers, teams and manufacturers. Fredrik Ekblom, who is a three-time Swedish champion, secured the drivers title in 2012 and is aiming for a new gold.
"Last year was a dream season and the joy is still there after our great Grand Slam. We face an even stronger challenge this year new competing drivers and teams. It is not going to be easy in any way, but we are for sure aiming for a new Grand Slam. The conditions are there for it, no doubt," said Fredrik Ekblom.
Other news ahead of this season is that half of the race weekends is going to feature the traditional STCC format with two races of 20 minutes each. The remaining four races features a single race of 40 minutes. Qualifying has also been changed to a system similar to Formula 1 with three different sessions (Q1 to Q3) where the five fastest driver gets to decide the grid for the race in the final session (Q3).
The STCC season starts on the 4th of May at Knutstorp in the south of Sweden, a track where Volvo holds the record of most number of victories. The season continues with a further seven races at tracks like Solvalla in Stockholm, home track Gothenburg City Arena and the season finale at Mantorp Park on the 21st of September.
Do not miss the video from the launch.
See more pictures from the launch in our gallery.
Follow Volvo Polestar Racing for the 2013 STCC season at www.polestar.com.
Calendar 2013 STCC
04/05 Knutstorp**
08/06 Solvalla*
29/06 Göteborg*
13/07 Falkenberg**
10/08 Östersund*
24/08 Karlskoga**
07/09 Tierp Arena*
21/09 Mantorp Park**
* = One race
** = Two races
Team Line-up
Volvo Polestar Racing
#11 Fredrik Ekblom
#12 Thed Björk
Volvo Polestar Performance
#14 Robert Dahlgren
#15 Linus Ohlsson
Volvo Polestar
#13 Carl Philip Benadotte