MOTORING NEWS - Following its inaugural FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) season in 2016 which far exceeded expectations, Polestar Cyan Racing has ramped up its 2017 programme with three new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race cars, a new driver line-up and a firm goal to become world champions.
The experienced drivers are: Thed Björk, Néstor Girolami and Nicky Catsburg who all bring experience and drive to the team, while a significant increase in engineering and technical resources have been made available. The team has also had an extensive off-season test programme.
"We have full confidence in the preparations and abilities of the Polestar Cyan Racing team and the driver line-up with Thed, Néstor and Nicky. However, we are by no means expecting an easy time in reaching our goal, which has been brought forward by one year. The opposition is as tough as ever. But there should be no doubt that we have the world title as our ultimate objective this year," says Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, head of motor sport at Polestar.
Four-time Swedish Touring Car Champion (STCC) Thed Björk continues as a driver for Polestar Cyan Racing, having been a vital part of the development programme as well as claiming the team's first WTCC victory in Shanghai last year. Björk is joined by double Argentinian Super TC 2000 champion Néstor Girolami drove one race weekend for the team last season and impressed on his debut, earning him a full-time drive, as well as a part in the development programme. New to the Polestar Cyan Racing team, but not to the WTCC, is experienced Dutch racer Nicky Catsburg, who has raced and won in the WTCC since 2014.
"The feeling of winning our first race in our first season was incredible and it really boosted my confidence ahead of the new and higher targets we have set for this season," says Thed Björk. "The off-season testing has been rewarding; I have never before driven this much before a season and I feel well prepared to fight for the world title. I am also really glad to have Néstor and Nicky on board – they are both very fast and professional."
"I am grateful to have this opportunity at Polestar Cyan Racing. My first race with the team last year was really promising and I felt right at home with them. I hope to, together with everyone in the team, take the next step forward in the standings this year," Girolami says.
"I followed Polestar Cyan Racing's progress closely from a competing team in 2016 and I am very glad to join them now. Their results from last year were impressive and I hope that I, together with Thed and Néstor, can contribute to a performance graph pointing straight up, in order to deliver on our tough goals for the 2017 season," Catsburg concludes.
The team from left: Carl Philip, Néstor Girolami, Nicky Catsburg and Thed Björk. Photo: QuickPic
The Polestar Cyan Racing team has been busy since the 2016 season end in November with an off-season test programme on circuits in southern Europe with the 300kW Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race car.
Preparations have been accelerated by the team's new multi-million euro Motorsport Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The facility will be completed in March, marking the biggest ever motor sport project in Scandinavia. The workshop spans over 6 000m² and will have everything needed for a WTCC title assault, including an F1-standard simulator, fully dynamic engine dyno, chassis and engine manufacturing, design office and more.
"This is the result of many years of hard work. We are proud to create an unprecedented level of motor sport engineering in Scandinavia. The facilities are a vital part in our push for the 2017 WTCC title, but there is more to it. Our testing programme has proceeded according to plan and we have taken key steps forward in the development of the S60 Polestar TC1 race car," says Christian Dahl, CEO of Cyan Racing.
The 2017 WTCC season starts on 8 April in Morocco and spans ten race weekends on four continents, ending in December in Qatar. Next up for the Polestar Cyan Racing team is the official WTCC pre-season test at the legendary Monza circuit in Italy on 14 and 15 March.
Four-time World Champion Yvan Muller has also joined Cyan Racing as development driver and senior advisor for the FIA World Touring Car Championship programme.
The Frenchman joined the team from January 2017 and has attended all test sessions with the Volvo S60 Polestar TC1 race car since, working closely with drivers Thed Björk, Néstor Girolami and Nicky Catsburg, as well as the team and organisation in other areas of development.
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