14 / 24
14
WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2017
NEWS
HOME
DRIVERS TEAM
Dahlgren is one
step away from the title
PWR Racing’s Robert Dahlgren has
staked a claim on the first TCR
Scandinavia title by taking four
victories out of the six races held in
the fifth and sixth events of the series
at Karlskoga and Anderstorp. As his
main competitors in the title fight –
Kristoffersson Motorsport’s Fredrik
Ekblom and Johan Kristoffersson –
suffered with a few dramas, Dahlgren
leading margin grew to 76 points
ahead of Ekblom, while 78 are still to
be awarded in the final event at
Mantorp Park on October 16.
At Karlskoga, Dahlgren beat Ekblom 2-
1 as he won the first and third races
and his rival the second. Kristoffersson
– who had collected six victories and
two second places in the previous nine
races – made a rare mistake while
leading Race 1 and did not start Race 2
due to a broken driveshaft.
Dahlgren won Race 1 from Ekblom,
with Mattias Andersson third. Ekblom
responded with a victory in Race 2
ahead of his teammate Fredrik
Blomstedt, while PWR’s Daniel Haglöf
handed the third place to Dahlgren.
In Race 3, Dahlgren and Kristoffersson
clashed while fighting for the lead, but
the SEAT driver maintained the first
position while Kristoffersson was given
a warning and dropped to fifth.
Eventually Haglöf kept Ekblom at bay
for second place.
Kristoffersson skipped the Anderstorp
event due to another commitment.
In Race 1, Haglöf claimed his first
victory, leading from lights-to-flag and
beating Ekblom by a slim margin;
Dahlgren took third, overtaking
Blomstedt on the first lap.
The second race saw Blomstedt
and Dahlgren deliver a thrilling
fight for the lead; they swapped
positions several times until Dahlgren
managed to stay ahead for good.
Behind them, Haglöf and Ekblom
collided and the latter rejoined at the
back of the field; Haglöf duly finished
third, but was demoted by a 30-second
penalty. This promoted Lappalainen to
third, his maiden podium result in the
series.
In the final race, Dahlgren made a
perfect start from pole position and led
for the whole distance, closely chased
by Blomstedt who never found a gap
for an overtaking manoeuvre. Haglöf
managed to pass Ekblom for third.