Thed Björk claimed his, Polestar Cyan Racing’s and Volvo Cars’ maiden FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) victory at Shanghai International Raceway today. The victory made this weekend historic for the team, with Richard Göransson securing the fourth consecutive double Scandinavian Touring Car Championship title yesterday.
Björk started sixth and fought his way up through the field, setting the fastest lap of the race to catch race leader Norbert Michelisz with three laps left. The two started a furious fight for the lead, with Björk passing him in the penultimate corner of the very last lap.
The duo made contact in the overtaking manoeuvre, resulting in a broken suspension for Björk who still managed to claim his, Volvo’s and the team’s first ever world championship victory.
Team-mate Fredrik Ekblom made a strong return to the championship after focussing on the testing programme of Polestar Cyan Racing since the races in Russia in June. The three-time STCC champion finished in the points of both races, with eighth in the first race and sixth in the second.
The victory has elevated Björk to eleventh position in the championship, just 20 points from breaking into the top ten.
Next up for Polestar Cyan Racing is the season finale in Qatar on November 23-25.
