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

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

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 Sweden Richard Göransson[3] D All
4 Sweden Robin Rudholm D All
Biogas.se Volkswagen Scirocco[4] 2 Sweden Fredrik Ekblom D All
11 Sweden Patrik Olsson D All
Flash Engineering BMW 320si E90 3 Sweden Thed Björk[5] D All
6 Sweden Jan "Flash" Nilsson D All
92 Sweden Tobias Tegelby S 17–18
Polestar Racing Volvo C30 5 Sweden Robert Dahlgren[6] D All
10 Norway Tommy Rustad[6] D All
Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden
Nordic Fine Art 		Chevrolet Lacetti
7 Norway Thomas Schie[7] D 1–6
12 Sweden Pontus Mörth[8] D 7–18
SEAT León 9 Sweden Roger Eriksson D All
Engström Motorsport Honda Accord 8 Sweden Tomas Engström D All
MA:GP
IPS Motorsport 		Alfa Romeo 156 20 Sweden Mattias Andersson D All
Peugeot 308 21 Sweden Johan Stureson D All
Team CaWalli BMW 320i E46 88 Sweden Viktor Hallrup S All
93 Sweden Dick Sahlén S All
Team MECA Alfa Romeo 156 GTA 89 Sweden Claes Hoffsten S All
G-Rex Sweden Mercedes-Benz C200 91 Sweden Tony Johansson S 1–6,9–12
Micke Ohlsson Motorsport Peugeot 407/BMW 320i E46[9] 94 Sweden Mikael Ohlsson S 1–10,15–16
Kristoffersson Motorsport Audi A4 95 Sweden Andreas Simonsen S 5–6,9–10
98 Sweden Johan Kristoffersson S All
Huggare Racing Opel Astra 96 Sweden Viktor Huggare S All
Mälarpower Motorsport Volvo S60 99 Sweden 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

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

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

Results and standings

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

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

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
Sweden 		KAR
Sweden 		GÖT
Sweden 		KNU
Sweden 		FAL
Sweden 		KAR
Sweden 		VÅL
Norway 		KNU
Sweden 		MAN
Sweden 		Pts
1 Norway Tommy Rustad 2 4 5 8 1 6 6 6 1 2 Ret DNS 1 1 4 14* 1 5 94
2 Sweden Thed Björk 4 2 4 3 2 4 3 Ret 2 3 4 4 2 3 2 11 4 Ret 94
3 Sweden Robin Rudholm Ret 11 1 1 10 9 2 2 7 5 3 3 6 2 5 9 2 6 80
4 Sweden Richard Göransson 3 1 11 5 9 7 4 5 3 1 2 5 9 9 1 Ret 3 Ret 75
5 Sweden Mattias Andersson 6 5 Ret 10 3 5 7 4 Ret 7 5 2 5 Ret 9 6 6 2 56
6 Sweden Jan "Flash" Nilsson 5 3 3 7 11 16 5 1 6 12 1 8 Ret 7 3 Ret 9 Ret 54
7 Sweden Robert Dahlgren 1 Ret 6 16 17 8 1 3 Ret DNS 6 1 Ret 4 Ret 15♯ 5 1 52
8 Sweden Tomas Engström Ret 10 2 6 7 1 9 11 8 4 7 14 3 Ret 12 3 8 3 50
9 Sweden Johan Stureson 7 8 7 2 6 2 Ret Ret 4 19 Ret DNS 7 5 6 1 Ret Ret 48
10 Sweden Roger Eriksson 9 6 8 4 4 3 8 7 5 13 Ret Ret 4 11 13 4 Ret 7 39
11 Sweden Pontus Mörth Ret 9 12 6 9 7 8 8 11 8 7 4 15
12 Sweden Patrik Olsson 14 15 16 12 15 11 10 8 13 9 8 6 10 13 8 2 11 9 14
13 Sweden Fredrik Ekblom 11 9 10 9 8 10 Ret 10 9 17 Ret Ret DNS 6 14 5 10 8 9
14 Norway Thomas Schie 8 7 9 Ret 5 DNS 7
15 Sweden Mikael Ohlsson 15 16 18 DNS Ret Ret 16 14 15 14 10 7 2
16 Sweden Viktor Hallrup 12 13 14 11 13 12 12 13 14 11 13 10 11 12 7 Ret 13 11 2
17 Sweden Andreas Simonsen 12 14 11 8 1
18 Sweden Johan Kristoffersson 10 12 12 13 Ret DNS 14 15 10 10 11 11 Ret 16 Ret 10 12 10 0
19 Sweden Tobias Tegelby 15 12 0
20 Sweden Dick Sahlén 16 17 13 17 14 13 11 12 17 15 Ret 9 12 9 Ret 12 14 13 0
21 Sweden Viktor Huggare 13 14 15 15 16 15 13 Ret 16 16 15 12 13 10 15 13 Ret 14 0
22 Sweden Claes Hoffsten Ret DNS 17 14 Ret DNS 15 16 18 18 12 13 14 14 Ret DNS DNS DNS 0
23 Sweden Ronnie Brandt DNS DNS DNS DNS 14 Ret 15 15 DNS DNS 0
24 Sweden 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

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

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

Pos. Driver MAN
Sweden 		KAR
Sweden 		GÖT
Sweden 		KNU
Sweden 		FAL
Sweden 		KAR
Sweden 		VÅL
Norway 		KNU
Sweden 		MAN
Sweden 		Pts
1 Sweden Viktor Hallrup 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 2 3 3 4 2 1 3 1 Ret 2 2 133
2 Sweden Johan Kristoffersson 1 1 1 2 Ret DNS 4 4 1 2 2 3 Ret 6 Ret 2 1 1 111
3 Sweden Dick Sahlén 5 5 2 5 3 2 1 1 6 5 Ret 1 2 1 Ret 3 3 4 106
4 Sweden Viktor Huggare 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 Ret 5 6 6 4 3 2 3 4 Ret 5 82
5 Sweden Mikael Ohlsson 4 4 6 DNS Ret Ret 6 3 4 4 2 1 50
6 Sweden Claes Hoffsten Ret DNS 5 3 Ret DNS 5 5 7 7 3 5 4 4 Ret DNS DNS DNS 42
7 Sweden Andreas Simonsen 1 3 2 1 34
8 Sweden Ronnie Brandt DNS DNS DNS DNS 5 Ret 5 5 DNS DNS 12
9 Sweden Tobias Tegelby 4 3 11
10 Sweden 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

  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.