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Historic double victory and World Championship lead at the Nürburgring

27 May 2017

The FIA World Touring Car Championship weekend at the world’s most challenging circuit, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, turned out to be the best ever for Polestar Cyan Racing with a double victory, double championship lead and a record lap.

Thed Björk won the first race with team-mate Nicky Catsburg taking the honours of the second race, claiming the drivers’ championship lead.

“It was a fantastic race. The car was perfectly set up for the second race and I managed to pull up a gap that enabled me to control the race. This is my favourite circuit and to win here is a true highlight of my career. We are leading the championship now which is our goal and we need to keep it for the rest of the season,” said Nicky Catsburg.

Four-time STCC champion Thed Björk fought his way from sixth on the grid to win the first race, elevating him to third position in the championship, just eight points from the points lead.

“I had a really good start and went from sixth to third before the first corner. I had a great race, was able to utilise the slipstream and score one of my best victories. I am very proud to add the Nürburgring to my list of victories after winning at classic Monza earlier this year,” said Thed Björk.

Disaster struck once again for Néstor Girolami who suffered a puncture at well over 200 km/h in the first race while in second place. The Argentinian escaped unhurt from the incident but the damage to his car forced him out of both races due to limited repair time.

“I had a puncture on a very fast part of the track, there was nothing I could do. We need to forget this bad luck and go for the next race in Portugal with new energy. Big congratulations to Nicky leading the championship and Thed being third, I am very happy for them,” said Néstor Girolami.

Polestar Cyan Racing has extended the lead over championship rivals Honda to 40 points, following the success in the WTCC Race of Germany weekend as the season closes in on half-point.

The weekend was crowned with race-winner Nicky Catsburg recording the fastest ever lap time of a WTCC race car around the 25-kilometre combined Nürburgring Nordschleife and GP circuit during official practice (8:34.813), the day after announcing the record lap of the Volvo S60 PCP3 road car.

“We can’t be anything but very pleased with this weekend. We have put down a lot of hours on this circuit, both for our race and road cars. To be able to capitalise on that is nothing but amazing. Nicky, Thed, Néstor and everyone in the team have done a great job and we look forward to continue our fight for the World Title,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.

Get ready for the next FIA WTCC race in Portugal on June 24-25th: http://wtcc.polestar.com

WTCC Race of Germany
Circuit: Nürburgring Nordschleife + GP circuit
Length: 25378 m
Lap record (WTCC): 8:40.688 (López)

Results
Race 1 – Top 5
1 Thed Björk Volvo S60 3 laps
2 Mehdi Bennani Citroën C-Elysée +2.538
3 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +3.096
4 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée +3.732
5 Esteban Guerrieri Chevrolet Cruze +8.487
…
6 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 +8.910
DNF Néstor Girolami Volvo S60

Race 2 – Top 5
1 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 3 laps
2 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic +3.065
3 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée +3.401
4 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +4.167
5 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée +5.763
…
DNS Néstor Girolami Volvo S60

Championship Standings
Drivers’ – Top 5
1 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 127 pts
2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 125 (-2)
3 Thed Björk Volvo S60 119 (-8)
4 Tom Chilton Citroën C-Elysée 106 (-21)
5 Rob Huff Citroën C-Elysée 102 (-25)
…
9 Néstor Girolami Volvo S60 52 (-75)
Manufacturers’
1 Volvo 404 pts
2 Honda 364 (-40)

Compensation weights for Germany
Model – Time difference – Weight
Volvo S60 Polestar – 0.0 sec – +80 kg
Citroën C-Elysée – +0.0 sec – +80 kg
Honda Civic – 0.1 sec – +70 kg
Chevrolet Cruze – +0.5 sec – +30 kg
Lada Vesta +1.4 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
5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic
8 – Aurélien Panis – FRA – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – NED – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze
12 – Rob Huff – GBR – Münnich Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
18 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic
24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée
27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée
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 Cruze TC1
99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengo 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

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