2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship

The 2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship season was the 14th Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) season. It was decided over nine race weekends (comprising eighteen races) at six different circuits.

Tommy Rustad won the drivers' championship for the second time. The ethanol powered Volvo C30 of Polestar Racing proved to be the fastest car over one lap, as evidenced by them setting all fastest qualifying times during the season (although grid penalties ruined the perfect score), but they were plagued by bad reliability. Instead, Thed Björk, driving for Flash Engineering, lead the championship most of the season, only to be overtaken in the last race.

The team championship also went down to the wire, with Polestar Racing besting WestCoast Racing by one point in the last race.

The entry of the Biogas.se team with their Volkswagen Scirocco meant the debut of a biogas powered car in STCC. Unfortunately, they had trouble matching the pace of the other factory teams and ended up last in the team championship.

Changes for 2009 edit

There were several rule changes for the 2009 season.[1]

Race format changes:

  • Two races of approximately 20 minutes were held each race weekend.
  • There were no mandatory pitstops in either race.
  • The starting grid of the first race was determined by qualifying.
  • The starting grid of the second race was determined by the results from the first race with the top eight positions reversed.
  • The qualifying was divided into two sessions, where the eight fastest from the first (20 minutes) session moved on to the second (10 minutes) session.
  • Both races used rolling starts.

Other changes:

  • Yokohama replaced Michelin as tyre supplier.
  • Each race weekend, the team that scored most points received a price sum of 100.000 SEK. For this purpose, some of the one-car teams combined two and two.
  • The winner of the team championship was awarded an additional 100.000 SEK.
  • The manufacturers' championship was dropped.

Drivers edit

These were the STCC entries for the 2009 season.[2] Drivers with numbers 88 and higher also competed in Semcon Cup, open for privateers only. All teams were Swedish-registered.

Team Car No. Drivers Class Rounds
WestCoast Racing BMW 320si E90 1   Richard Göransson[3] D All
4   Robin Rudholm D All
Biogas.se Volkswagen Scirocco[4] 2   Fredrik Ekblom D All
11   Patrik Olsson D All
Flash Engineering BMW 320si E90 3   Thed Björk[5] D All
6   Jan "Flash" Nilsson D All
92   Tobias Tegelby S 17–18
Polestar Racing Volvo C30 5   Robert Dahlgren[6] D All
10   Tommy Rustad[6] D All
Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden
Nordic Fine Art
Chevrolet Lacetti
7   Thomas Schie[7] D 1–6
12   Pontus Mörth[8] D 7–18
SEAT León 9   Roger Eriksson D All
Engström Motorsport Honda Accord 8   Tomas Engström D All
MA:GP
IPS Motorsport
Alfa Romeo 156 20   Mattias Andersson D All
Peugeot 308 21   Johan Stureson D All
Team CaWalli BMW 320i E46 88   Viktor Hallrup S All
93   Dick Sahlén S All
Team MECA Alfa Romeo 156 GTA 89   Claes Hoffsten S All
G-Rex Sweden Mercedes-Benz C200 91   Tony Johansson S 1–6,9–12
Micke Ohlsson Motorsport Peugeot 407/BMW 320i E46[9] 94   Mikael Ohlsson S 1–10,15–16
Kristoffersson Motorsport Audi A4 95   Andreas Simonsen S 5–6,9–10
98   Johan Kristoffersson S All
Huggare Racing Opel Astra 96   Viktor Huggare S All
Mälarpower Motorsport Volvo S60 99   Ronnie Brandt S 5–8,11–14,17–18
Icon Class
D Drivers' Championship
S Semcon Cup

* Mikko Tiainen, Petter Granlund and Joakim Ahlberg were on the official entry list, but failed to participate in any races during the season.

Race Calendar edit

The race calendar for this season was as follows:[10][11]

Round Circuit/Location Date
1 & 2   Mantorp Park May 2
3 & 4   Karlskoga Motorstadion May 23
5 & 6   Göteborg City Race June 6
7 & 8   Ring Knutstorp June 27
9 & 10   Falkenbergs Motorbana July 11
11 & 12   Karlskoga Motorstadion August 15
13 & 14   Vålerbanen August 29
15 & 16   Ring Knutstorp September 12
17 & 18   Mantorp Park September 26

Results and standings edit

The points system used for both the main championship and Semcon Cup was the standard FIA system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1, awarded to the top eight finishers of each race. In case of ties in points, the championship positions were determined by the classification in the latest race.[1]

Races edit

Round Circuit/Location Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Highest Scoring Team Winning Privateer
1   Mantorp Park   Robert Dahlgren   Robert Dahlgren   Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing Flash Engineering   Johan Kristoffersson
2   Thomas Schie   Thed Björk   Richard Göransson WestCoast Racing   Johan Kristoffersson
3   Karlskoga Motorstadion   Robin Rudholm*   Robin Rudholm   Robin Rudholm WestCoast Racing WestCoast Racing   Johan Kristoffersson
4   Roger Eriksson   Robin Rudholm   Robin Rudholm WestCoast Racing   Viktor Hallrup
5   Göteborg City Race   Tommy Rustad*   Robert Dahlgren   Tommy Rustad Polestar Racing MA:GP/IPS   Andreas Simonsen
6   Fredrik Ekblom   Robert Dahlgren   Tomas Engström Engström Motorsport   Viktor Hallrup
7   Ring Knutstorp   Robert Dahlgren   Robin Rudholm   Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing WestCoast Racing   Dick Sahlén
8   Roger Eriksson   Robin Rudholm   Jan Nilsson Flash Engineering   Dick Sahlén
9   Falkenbergs Motorbana   Tommy Rustad   Tommy Rustad   Tommy Rustad Polestar Racing WestCoast Racing   Johan Kristoffersson
10   Tomas Engström   Thed Björk   Richard Göransson WestCoast Racing   Andreas Simonsen
11   Karlskoga Motorstadion   Robert Dahlgren   Jan Nilsson   Jan Nilsson Flash Engineering WestCoast Racing   Tony Johansson
12   Patrik Olsson   Robert Dahlgren   Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing   Dick Sahlén
13   Vålerbanen   Robert Dahlgren   Tommy Rustad   Tommy Rustad Polestar Racing Polestar Racing   Viktor Hallrup
14   Pontus Mörth   Thed Björk   Tommy Rustad Polestar Racing   Dick Sahlén
15   Ring Knutstorp   Robert Dahlgren   Robert Dahlgren   Richard Göransson WestCoast Racing MA:GP/IPS   Viktor Hallrup
16   Patrik Olsson   Thed Björk   Johan Stureson IPS Motorsport   Mikael Ohlsson
17   Mantorp Park   Robin Rudholm   Robert Dahlgren   Tommy Rustad Polestar Racing Polestar Racing   Johan Kristoffersson
18   Tomas Engström   Robert Dahlgren   Robert Dahlgren Polestar Racing   Johan Kristoffersson

* Robert Dahlgren set the fastest qualifying time, but was moved down 10 places on the grid, due to engine changes.[12][13]

Robert Dahlgren set the fastest qualifying time, but was moved down 10 places on the grid, due to having received two yellow cards for unfair driving.[14]

Drivers Championship edit

The drivers' championship was won by Tommy Rustad. In the end he scored the same number of points as Thed Björk, but won thanks to finishing higher in the last race.[15]

Pos. Driver MAN
 
KAR
 
GÖT
 
KNU
 
FAL
 
KAR
 
VÅL
 
KNU
 
MAN
 
Pts
1   Tommy Rustad 2 4 5 8 1 6 6 6 1 2 Ret DNS 1 1 4 14* 1 5 94
2   Thed Björk 4 2 4 3 2 4 3 Ret 2 3 4 4 2 3 2 11 4 Ret 94
3   Robin Rudholm Ret 11 1 1 10 9 2 2 7 5 3 3 6 2 5 9 2 6 80
4   Richard Göransson 3 1 11 5 9 7 4 5 3 1 2 5 9 9 1 Ret 3 Ret 75
5   Mattias Andersson 6 5 Ret 10 3 5 7 4 Ret 7 5 2 5 Ret 9 6 6 2 56
6   Jan "Flash" Nilsson 5 3 3 7 11 16 5 1 6 12 1 8 Ret 7 3 Ret 9 Ret 54
7   Robert Dahlgren 1 Ret 6 16 17 8 1 3 Ret DNS 6 1 Ret 4 Ret 15 5 1 52
8   Tomas Engström Ret 10 2 6 7 1 9 11 8 4 7 14 3 Ret 12 3 8 3 50
9   Johan Stureson 7 8 7 2 6 2 Ret Ret 4 19 Ret DNS 7 5 6 1 Ret Ret 48
10   Roger Eriksson 9 6 8 4 4 3 8 7 5 13 Ret Ret 4 11 13 4 Ret 7 39
11   Pontus Mörth Ret 9 12 6 9 7 8 8 11 8 7 4 15
12   Patrik Olsson 14 15 16 12 15 11 10 8 13 9 8 6 10 13 8 2 11 9 14
13   Fredrik Ekblom 11 9 10 9 8 10 Ret 10 9 17 Ret Ret DNS 6 14 5 10 8 9
14   Thomas Schie 8 7 9 Ret 5 DNS 7
15   Mikael Ohlsson 15 16 18 DNS Ret Ret 16 14 15 14 10 7 2
16   Viktor Hallrup 12 13 14 11 13 12 12 13 14 11 13 10 11 12 7 Ret 13 11 2
17   Andreas Simonsen 12 14 11 8 1
18   Johan Kristoffersson 10 12 12 13 Ret DNS 14 15 10 10 11 11 Ret 16 Ret 10 12 10 0
19   Tobias Tegelby 15 12 0
20   Dick Sahlén 16 17 13 17 14 13 11 12 17 15 Ret 9 12 9 Ret 12 14 13 0
21   Viktor Huggare 13 14 15 15 16 15 13 Ret 16 16 15 12 13 10 15 13 Ret 14 0
22   Claes Hoffsten Ret DNS 17 14 Ret DNS 15 16 18 18 12 13 14 14 Ret DNS DNS DNS 0
23   Ronnie Brandt DNS DNS DNS DNS 14 Ret 15 15 DNS DNS 0
24   Tony Johansson DNS DNS DNS DNS Ret Ret 19 Ret 10 Ret 0
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

* Tommy Rustad was given a 30 seconds time penalty for an incident in the start, dropping him from 7th to 14th place.[14]

Robert Dahlgren was docked 10 points in the drivers' championship, due to being deemed responsible for a crash with Thed Björk. Note that this penalty didn't affect the team score.[14]

Team Championship edit

The team championship was won by Polestar Racing, a single point ahead of West Coast Racing.[16]

Pos Team Pts Prize money
1 Polestar Racing 156 300.000 SEK
2 West Coast Racing 155 400.000 SEK
3 Flash Engineering 148 100.000 SEK
4 MA:GP / IPS 104 200.000 SEK
5 CMS / NFA 60
6 Engström Motorsport 50
7 Biogas.se 23

Semcon Cup edit

The results in the 2009 Semcon Cup were as follows:[17]

Pos. Driver MAN
 
KAR
 
GÖT
 
KNU
 
FAL
 
KAR
 
VÅL
 
KNU
 
MAN
 
Pts
1   Viktor Hallrup 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 2 3 3 4 2 1 3 1 Ret 2 2 133
2   Johan Kristoffersson 1 1 1 2 Ret DNS 4 4 1 2 2 3 Ret 6 Ret 2 1 1 111
3   Dick Sahlén 5 5 2 5 3 2 1 1 6 5 Ret 1 2 1 Ret 3 3 4 106
4   Viktor Huggare 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 Ret 5 6 6 4 3 2 3 4 Ret 5 82
5   Mikael Ohlsson 4 4 6 DNS Ret Ret 6 3 4 4 2 1 50
6   Claes Hoffsten Ret DNS 5 3 Ret DNS 5 5 7 7 3 5 4 4 Ret DNS DNS DNS 42
7   Andreas Simonsen 1 3 2 1 34
8   Ronnie Brandt DNS DNS DNS DNS 5 Ret 5 5 DNS DNS 12
9   Tobias Tegelby 4 3 11
10   Tony Johansson DNS DNS DNS DNS Ret Ret 8 Ret 1 Ret 11
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Sporting regulations STCC 2009" (PDF). STCC. Retrieved 2010-01-11.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Official entry list for STCC 2009". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  3. ^ "Göransson drafted to WestCoast Racing" (in Swedish). STCC. Retrieved 2008-12-12.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Volkswagen teaming up with E.ON in STCC 2009" (in Swedish). STCC. Retrieved 2008-12-19.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Thed Björk joins Flash Engineering". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  6. ^ a b "Rustad (with Dahlgren) ready for Polestar Racing" (in Swedish). STCC. Retrieved 2008-12-23.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Thomas Schie leaves Chevrolet". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  8. ^ "Pontus Mörth confirmed for Chevrolet". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  9. ^ "Ohlsson switches from Peugeot to BMW". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  10. ^ "Race Calendar dates" (in Swedish). STCC. Retrieved 2008-11-05.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "2009-calendar finally revealed". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  12. ^ "Rudholm on pole after penalty for Dahlgren". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  13. ^ "First pole for Tommy Rustad". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  14. ^ a b c "Dahlgren and Rustad penalized". TouringCarTimes. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  15. ^ "STCC Förarmästerskap 2009" (in Swedish). STCC. Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  16. ^ "Teammästerskap 2009" (in Swedish). STCC. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  17. ^ "Semcon Cup 2009" (in Swedish). STCC. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2009-12-27.

External links edit