Motorsport News
Björk Ruins the Race of the Season for Dahlgren
By Source: Volvo Cars
Sep 14, 2009, 08:10

We know what you're thinking--how could an Icelandic pop star ruin a Volvo racing driver's day? Turns out, this is a different Björk. A guy. And a race car driver. Who knew?

We didn't see the race, but reports from the forums say that Björk quite blatantly hit Dahlgren, taking him out of the race. Yet somehow, just five hours after the race, STCC doled out penalties to both Volvo drivers--30 seconds, or two points to Rustad and a whopping 10 points for Dahlgren. How is that fair? And how much must the BMW team be paying STCC for such favoritism? Volvo's overly-polite press release is below.


Messy STCC weekend at Ring Knutstorp

The second to last STCC race of the season took place this weekend at Ring Knutstorp. A weekend that easily qualifies in the top as the messiest of the season. Volvos team Polestar Racing and driver Robert Dahlgren were just a lap from completing the most spectacular race of the season - to win a race from last on the grid. Then came Thed Björk.

Dahlgren qualified in pole but was forced to retire in heat one, while in lead, with a broken gearbox. This meant he had to start the second race from the very last spot on the grid. From this last position, Dahlgren managed to pass seventeen cars working his way up behind the race leader Thed Björk in BMW. Two laps from the end, Dahlgren initiated overtaking Björk in the first corner after the start and finish straight. Dahlgren is on the inside and a half car length ahead exiting the corner when Björk steered in to Dahlgren. Björk hits Dahlgren's left front wheel and breaks his track rod. Dahlgren, left without steering, goes straight out in the gravel where he gets stuck. Björk falls back too and finishes ninth.

"Incredibly frustrating. This would have easily been the race of my life. I do not understand how Björk and his team are reasoning. I passed the complete field without an incident, but every time I am close to a BMW from Flash Engineering, I end up with a problem. If they don't hit me in the start, they hit me when I try to pass" says a disappointed Robert Dahlgren.

Beyond this incident, Tommy Rustad was also affected by several crashes which the race stewards still have not resolved. At this time, it seems that Rustad will at least accumulate seven points and would thereby shadow championship leader Thed Björk with a maximum of seven points for the finale. Robert Dahlgren was left without points this weekend.

"This is very disappointing. Unfortunately, the teams and the drivers have learned that this behavior can be rewarding. When Thed Björks team mate, Jan Nilsson, pushed Dahlgren off track in the start at Karlskoga, we filed a protest. This was rejected and could not be appealed. Now Dahlgren is hit again and ends up with another ruined race" says Christian Dahl, Team Manager for Volvos team Polestar Racing.

For more discussion on this story, click on the link to our discussion forums at the left.

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