Polestar Cyan Racing are expecting the Nürburgring Nordschleife to suit their Volvo S60 racer in this weekend’s highly-anticipated World Touring Car Championship races in Germany.
With the Swedish team having only made their return to the WTCC at the start of 2016, neither Thed Björk nor Fredrik Ekblom took part in the first WTCC event at the legendary circuit in 2015.
However both drivers have previous experience of the circuit situated in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, with Ekblom having won the S1 class of the “4 Hour race in 2008.
“I am very much looking forward to race on the Nürburgring again and to utilise my experience from racing there in the past,” said Ekblom. “It is going to be really tough, especially as it will be the first time ever for the team on the track.
“I’m keeping my expectations realistic as we are in our learning period of the championship and especially on such an unpredictable track as the Nürburgring where it can be sunshine on one part and torrential rain on another.”
Björk and Ekblom have both scored a WTCC-best result of fourth for Polestar Cyan Racing in 2016, and the former is expecting the high-speed circuit with over 170 turns to suit the team’s S60 racer.
“Each lap is like the best rollercoaster in the world,” said Björk. “There just is no place like it and I have huge respect for racing with the WTCC there. This is no doubt the highlight of the season from a driver’s point of view.
“The track should theoretically suit our car but it is impossible to make any predictions as this is such a unique place as well as the high level of competition in the WTCC.”
Polestar’s Head of Motorsport Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin is also expecting the circuit to suit the team’s car, but he stopped short of predicting a repeat of the manufacturers’ 1985 victory in the European Touring Car Championship at the shorter version of the circuit.
“With the knowledge gained from our first four races this year, on paper this track should suit us a lot better than the tight Marrakesh street circuit,” said Schedvin. “Perhaps it’s a tall order to try to repeat the win from when Volvo raced here last time in the 1985 ETCC.
“But we will of course give our best and hope that Volvo and Polestar fans will enjoy the return of Volvo Car Group’s unparalleled turbo powered race engine technology on the ’ring’.”