Car # 1 returns to STCC. Reigning STCC-champion Richard Göransson returns to STCC earlier than planned after his violent crash in the season opener at Jyllandsringen in Denmark in April. The doctors estimated a recovery time of three months but Richard Göransson returns already this weekend for the city race in Gothenburg.
”This feels really good and I feel completely recovered and back in business again,” Richard says. ”The pain in my back went away relatively quick and I could start working on my fitness and start the recovery a bit earlier than planned. The bones are healed and I feel ready for a comeback.”

Richard will make his comeback in the city race in Gothenburg, a race he won last year which so far is the only BMW-win on the harbour city track. Richard drove a secret test with WestCoast Racing this week before the decision to return this weekend was taken.
”Gothenburg is one of those races you don’t want to miss and that has been a good motivational factor in my recovery and during the many hours at the gym. It was one of the races I won last year and it’s great to be back there again. I felt completely normal after just a few laps when we tested on Tuesday and after that we took the decision to return to racing this weekend.”

Richard praises the help he has received from Örebro Rehabcenter and the University hospital in his hometown Örebro, something he says has been a big contributing factor for a comeback earlier than previously thought.
”I really must thank Magnus Johansson at Örebro Rehabcenter and Ulf Nordström at the Universityhospital in Örebro. They have been absolutely amazing and extremely professional and that has been a big help in my recovery. My family and WestCoast Racing has also been a great support and to have had them to discuss my ideas and thoughts with have been invaluable. This means I feel very comfortable coming back to STCC now,” Richard finishes.

He will be driving a newly bought BMW 320 Si that WestCoast Racing has bought from BMW Motorsport. The car was used in WTCC by BMW Motorsport and Richard tested the car on Tuesday at Falkenberg race circuit.
”I never thought Richard would return already for Gothenburg,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth says. ”It was a very serious accident and I’m impressed by his motivation and tenacity and the help he has received during his recovery. We always wanted to give Richard the best possible circumstances for when he would return and decided very early on that we would buy a new car. The test on Tuesday was very good and we could take this decision together after that test. His return and the fact that we once again are a two car team with both Richard and Martin Öhlin is something that lifts the spirit in the whole team.”

Fredrik Larsson will join WestCoast Racing. He will partner Fredrik Lestrup in the three remaining races in the Swedish GT-league for WestCoast Racing driving the BMW Z4 GT3.
”This will be a lot of fun. Dick asked me if I could help and I didn’t hesitate for one second” Fredrik says.

The next race in the Swedish GT-league will be held at the short and fast track in Falkenberg, the home track for both Fredrik Larsson and WestCoast Racing. He looks forward to drive his first race for WestCoast Racing at that particular track.
”I will enjoy it, I think the track will suit the car and we will be able to take advantage of the downforce in the car at this track. It’s also fitting that that our first race together will be at both mine and WestCoast’s home track. Me and Dick has known each other for a long time but it’s not until now that we can work together. It’s about time after all these years and I really look forward to this” Fredrik finishes.

He returned to racing two years ago after a long retirement after a succesful single seater career both in Europe and USA. Fredrik has been the most winning driver in Carrera Cup Scandinavia for the past two years. This season he’s already been racing in the German endurance series VLN for the German BMW-team Schubert Motorsport for whom he will race a BMW Z4 GT3 in the 24-hour race at Nordschleife in three weeks time. WestCoast Racing team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth is happy to welcome Fredrik to the team.
”It’s about time, this is something we have talked about for a long time and it started out as a fun thing that now is reality. It’s also about time we have a driver from the westcoast in the team. Fredrik is a very good driver, both fast and experienced, and he will be a very good addition to Richard Göransson and Fredrik Lestrup in our GT-programme. He is a winner with a lot of experience and will fit perfectly with WestCoast Racing. We are looking forward to Falkenberg!”

Next race for Fredrik Larsson will be the 24-hour race at Nürburgring. His first race for WestCoast Racing will be at Falkenberg July 23rd and 24th.

WestCoast Racing took their first victory for the season when the Swedish GT-league held its’ second round at Mantorp Park. Fredrik Lestrup and Lars Stugemo fought back from a poor start to win the one hour long race in the final minutes.
”This feels great, its’ our first victory of the season” says team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth. ”The guys did a good race, the car worked well and this is a nice thing to bring back home from the weekend.”

Lars Stugemo drove the first stint starting in second place after Fredrik Lestrup put the car on the first row in qualifying. Stugemo had a good start initially but got stuck around the outside in the first corner and lost a couple of places. After that he was stuck behind slower cars unable to pass but when the safety car came out he managed to use the situation to take back two places after the restart. He entered the pits in third place for the driver change.
”It was fun but I was too cautious in the start. It was tough losing a couple of places right at the start of the race but it feels good that I could fight back later in the stint. For me this was more like a sprint race, I’m not used to short stints and maybe I took a bit too long getting up to speed. I’m happy I could fight back and take back some of the places I lost. It was really great Fredrik then could take over and do a fantastic job in his stint and pressure the leader into a mistake. It’s great to win!”

Fredrik Lestrup drove the final stint and came back out on the track in third place. He quickly passed Jan Brunstedt in the second placed Audi R8 and started chasing down the leader Daniel Roos in the other Audi R8. Roos had a lead of 12 seconds but with eight minutes remaining Fredrik was on his tail fighting for the lead. Roos then spun off, handing the lead to Lestrup who could finish the race in first place.
”I’m very happy with Stugemo’s effort” Fredrik said afterwards. ”He kept us up there in touch with the leaders and really looked after the tyres. That made ny job su much more easier and I could really go for it trying to chase Roos. I could see he started to make mistakes when I got close and I decided to put him under pressure. He spun around but with the speed we had I believe we could have given him a great fight and win nonetheless. This was a real team effort, we fought back and the strategy and set-up for the race worked perfect and this is a very nice victory together.”

Result, GT-race Swedish Racing League Mantorp Park

WestCoast Racing returns to Mantorp Park this weekend. This time for the second race of the season in the Swedish GT-league. After a third place in the season opener at Anderstorp WestCoast Racing has spent two days testing at Hockenheim getting to know the new BMW Z4 GT3 better. The team now feels better prepared after two constructive testdays.
”It’s about time to get the GT-programme up to speed,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth says. ”We had just finished building the car when we arrived at Anderstorp. Now we have had two good test days at Hockenheim and we are much better prepared this time. It will be exciting to see what we can do at Mantorp.”

The car will be driven by the Westcoast Racings GT-driver Fredrik Lestrup who will share the car with Lars Stugemo. Both drove one race each for the team in the old car last year and the race this weekend at Mantorp will be their first race for WestCoast Racing this year. Both drivers were present at the two testdays at Hockenheim and Fredrik Lestrup looks forward to the weekend.
”It’s finally started. The testing at Hockenheim went really well and we had a chance to test several different set-ups and get to know the car better. We have a lot of data with us back home that will help us understand the car much better. I think we will have a fun weekend at Mantorp, I’m looking forward to share the car with Lars and my season with WestCoast Racing has finally started!” he says.

Swedish Racing League will be held on Friday and Saturday with qualification for the GT-race on Friday followed by a one hour long race on Saturday. Live timing will be available at http://amigoo.se

WestCoast Racing will give reports during the race on the twitterfeed – www.twitter.com/westcoastracing although these reports will most likely be in Swedish.

Time schedule, Swedish Racing League:

Friday June 3rd

09.00 Battle of The Twins, free practice
09.25 Ginetta G20 Cup, free practice
09.50 Trofeo Abarth, free practice
10.15 Swedish GT/Ferrari Challenge, free practice
11.20 Ginetta G20 Cup, qualification
11.45 Trofeo Abarth, qualification
12.10 Swedish GT/Ferrari Challenge, qualification
12.45 LUNCH
13.35 Battle of The Twins, qualification
14.00 Ginetta G20 Cup, Race 1
14.30 Ferrari Challenge, Race 1
15.00 Trofeo Abarth, Race 1
15.45 Battle of The Twins, Race 1
16.15 Ferrari Challenge, Race 2

Saturday June 4th

09.00 Battle of The Twins, Race 2
09.30 Ginetta G20 Cup, Race 2
10.00 Autoropa customer events
12.00 LUNCH
12.30 Swedish GT, Race
13.40 Autoropa, customer and test drive Ferrari FXX m.fl.
14.40 Trofeo Abarth, Race 2
15.10 Autoropa, customer events
17.00 Finish