2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship Explained

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 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 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

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

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	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

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

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 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

External links

• STCC Official Website (Swedish)
• TouringCarTimes – STCC news in English

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sporting regulations STCC 2009. STCC. 2010-01-11.
2. Web site: Official entry list for STCC 2009 . TouringCarTimes . 2009-03-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716070926/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3239 . 2011-07-16 . dead .
3. Web site: Göransson drafted to WestCoast Racing. STCC. Swedish. 2008-12-12.
4. Web site: Volkswagen teaming up with E.ON in STCC 2009. STCC. Swedish. 2008-12-19.
5. Web site: Thed Björk joins Flash Engineering . TouringCarTimes . 2009-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090112081502/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3052 . 12 January 2009 . dead .
6. Web site: Rustad (with Dahlgren) ready for Polestar Racing. STCC. Swedish. 2008-12-23.
7. Web site: Thomas Schie leaves Chevrolet . TouringCarTimes . 2009-08-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071656/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3595 . 2011-07-16 . dead .
8. Web site: Pontus Mörth confirmed for Chevrolet . TouringCarTimes . 2009-08-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071721/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3611 . July 16, 2011 .
9. Web site: Ohlsson switches from Peugeot to BMW . TouringCarTimes . 2009-03-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090703031740/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3646 . July 3, 2009 .
10. Web site: Race Calendar dates. STCC. Swedish. 2008-11-05.
11. Web site: 2009-calendar finally revealed . TouringCarTimes . 2010-01-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120224130953/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=2895 . February 24, 2012 .
12. Web site: Rudholm on pole after penalty for Dahlgren . TouringCarTimes . 2010-01-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120224130957/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3514 . February 24, 2012 .
13. Web site: First pole for Tommy Rustad . TouringCarTimes . 2010-01-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120224131008/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3580 . February 24, 2012 .
14. Web site: Dahlgren and Rustad penalized . TouringCarTimes . 2010-01-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120224131016/http://www.touringcartimes.com/news.php?id=3959 . February 24, 2012 .
15. Web site: STCC Förarmästerskap 2009. STCC. Swedish. 2009-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20100326004626/http://www.stcc.se/876/. 2010-03-26. dead.
16. Web site: Teammästerskap 2009. STCC. Swedish. 2009-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20100227012232/http://www.stcc.se/877/. 2010-02-27. dead.
17. Web site: Semcon Cup 2009. STCC. Swedish. 2009-12-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20100227012238/http://www.stcc.se/879/. 2010-02-27. dead.