Prince Carl Philip and Thed Björk started the Swedish GT season in the best possible way by claiming pole position and victory, beating the field of Audi, Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche drivers at Knutstorp in Sweden with their Volvo S60 Polestar racecar.
Thed Björk claimed pole position for the first race despite rain hitting the track just minutes before qualifying. He then headed the field in his first race stint, pulling up a strong gap before handing it over to teammate Prince Carl Philip.
“I am very happy to follow up my WTCC victory at Monza last weekend with this victory together with Prince Carl Philip. The car worked really well in the wet and I could hand over the car while leading, exactly as we planned. Prince Carl Philip drove really well and we have an exciting day ahead of us tomorrow,” said Thed Björk.
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The Polestar Cyan Racing team called in Thed Björk for the driver change just as the safety car went out on track, handing Prince Carl Philip a big lead over the closest GTA class competitor.
Prince Carl Philip maintained the lead provided by his teammate, winning the race by more than 16 seconds over the McLaren pair of Erik Behrens and Daniel Roos and 45 seconds over Audi driver Jan Brunstedt.
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“The season could not have started in a better way. We managed to claim pole and win the race despite difficult conditions. The team did a really good job with the car and Thed proved that he is a four-time STCC champion. I am looking forward to the second race tomorrow, driving alone will of course mean a different strategy,” said Prince Carl Philip.
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The victory has the par in the championship lead ahead of the second race in which Prince Carl Philip will drive alone, starting second, with Thed Björk acting as advisor from the pits.
“A season opener victory is always great. Not only for the points, but also as a morale boost for the entire team to hit the ground running. Prince Carl Philip, Thed and the entire team did a really good job today,” said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
Volvo Philippines also offers Polestar optimization for qualified Volvo models.