Maintained World Championship Lead With Double Podium In Tough Portuguese Races

June 26, 2017 by Polestar

Thed Björk secured a double podium in the FIA WTCC Race of Portugal on the challenging street circuit Vila Real, enabling Polestar Cyan Racing to maintain the World Championship lead for manufacturers.

The four-time STCC champion has moved up to second in the drivers' championship, just four points from the top spot. Björk finished third in the opening race and challenged race leader Norbert Michelisz in the main race for the victory, despite carrying 30 kilos more, to finish second.

'My goal was to fight for the podium in both races, gain on the championship lead and we managed just that. The team gave me a really good car this weekend that provided me with a lot of confidence, despite carrying full weight. I am very happy to be just four points from the World Championship lead at mid-point of the season,' said Thed Björk.

Team-mate Nicky Catsburg dropped to third in the driver standings but managed to secure two top-five finishes and is just ten points from the championship lead.

'I would say that I am quite happy with the results considering the weight difference to Honda at this track. I lost some points, but to still be third in the championship and that close to the lead at this stage in the championship is really good,' said Nicky Catsburg.

Volvo leads Honda by 28 points as the half-way point of the 2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship season has been reached.

'The result from this weekend was pretty much what we could hope for. Thanks to a massive effort by everyone in the team, we leave Vila Real and the fantastic crowd with a maintained championship lead. We are quite pleased and our position for the remainder of the season is excellent,' said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

Néstor Girolami claimed two top-ten finishes after suffering from technical issues and hopes to bounce back at his home race in Argentina.

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'I had vibration issues in the races today and that stopped me from getting better results unfortunately. I hope to secure a much better result in my home race, like we did in Marrakech and Monza. We will keep pushing, that is for sure,' said Néstor Girolami.

The WTCC Race of Argentina takes place on July 15-16th: http://wtcc.polestar.com

WTCC Race of Portugal

Circuit: Circuito Internacional de Vila Real

Length: 4785 m

Lap record (WTCC): 1:58.385 (Huff)

Results

Race 1 – Top 5

1 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 11 laps

2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +0.799

3 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +1.632

4 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée +2.447

5 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +4.459

…

8 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +12.317

Race 2 – Top 5

1 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 13 laps

2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.480

3 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic +2.200

4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +4.457

5 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +4.587

…

9 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 +24.864

MAC3

1 Volvo 4:05.355

2 Honda +3.992

Championship Standings

Drivers' – Top 5

1 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 164 pts

2 Thed Björk Volvo S60 160 (-4)

3 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 154 (-10)

4 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 137 (-27)

5 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée 133 (-31)

…

9 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 58 (-106)

Manufacturers'

1 Volvo 494 pts

2 Honda 466 (-28)

Compensation weights for Portugal

Model – Time difference – Weight

Volvo S60 Polestar – 0.0 sec – +80 kg

Citroën C-Elysée – 0.0 sec – +80 kg

Honda Civic – +0.3 sec – +50 kg

Chevrolet Cruze – +0.6 sec – +20 kg

Lada Vesta +1.2 sec – +0 kg

TV Schedule

https://www.fiawtcc.com/watch-it-on-tv

http://www.eurosportplayer.com

2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship Entry List

No – Driver – Team – Car

3 – Tom Chilton – GBR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC

8 – Aurélien Panis – FRA – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

9 – Tom Coronel – NED – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1

12 – Rob Huff – GBR – Münnich Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

18 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC

24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC

25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

34 – Ryo Michigami – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC

61 – Néstor Girolami – ARG – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1

62 – Thed Björk – SWE – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1

63 – Nicky Catsburg – NED – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1

68 – Yann Ehrlacher – FRA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC

86 – Esteban Guerrieri – ARG – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1

99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

FIA World Touring Car Championship 2017 Calendar

WTCC Race of Morocco (Marrakech): 7-9 April

WTCC Race of Italy (Monza): 28-30 April

WTCC Race of Hungary (Hungaroring): 12-14 May

WTCC Race of Germany (Nürburgring Nordschleife): 25-27 May

WTCC Race of Portugal (Vila Real): 23-25 June

WTCC Race of Argentina (Termas de Río Hondo): 15-16 July

WTCC Race of China (Shanghai Ningbo Circuit): 13-15 October

WTCC Race of Japan (Twin Ring Motegi): 27-29 October

WTCC Race of Macau (Circuit de Guia): 17-19 November

WTCC Race of Qatar (Losail International Circuit): 30 November-1 December