Race report, Race 1 Knutstorp:

Martin Öhlin put in a great effort at Ring Knutstorp to finish fourth, his best result in the STCC and with only one race weekend’s experience. Martin drove a flawless race and secured important points for himself and WestCoast Racing. He was also the best BMW driver in the race.
– I’m extremely pleased, I’m well and truly happy, says a satisfied Martin. Having a good race was important today. I lost a spot in the beginning but was able to dive down the outside and take it back. After that I chased Mattias and gained another spot when he spun off. Once again we proved that our speed during the races is good.

Martin will again start from fifth in the next race and he is looking forward to repeating his effort from the first race.
– Now I know how this works and I’m getting there slowly but surely. I just have to get a better start, but I’m sure we’ll work that out too. Having the inside line again in the next race feels perfect. It’s a good place to start, a happy Martin concludes.

Team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth was relieved after the race and was also very satisfied with Martin’s result.
– Martin has done a really good job today and got important points in the championship. This was the effort the team needed and Martin did it for us. We were able to show that we have two strong cars in the team and Martin finished best of the BMWs. The conditions for race two are also very good.

Results, top 8, race 1 Ring Knutstorp:
1: Fredrik Ekblom, Volkswagen 19 varv
2: Tommy Rustad, Volvo + 0,466
3: Rickard Rydell, Chevrolet + 1,369
4: Martin Öhlin, BMW + 3,188
5: Patrik Olsson, Volkswagen + 5,351
6: Colin Turkington, BMW + 6,524
7: Johan Sturesson, BMW + 6,767
8: Mattias Andersson, Alfa Romeo + 13,969

Race report, Race 2 Knutstorp

Martin Öhlin continued to deliver a strong effort in the second race of the weekend at Ring Knutstorp. Having made a brilliant start he was third in the race until four laps before the finish when he was pushed off and spun around by Johan Stureson in the last corner. This caused Martin to drop down to tenth.
– I’ll probably be very happy with this weekend and the speed I’ve shown tomorrow. Right now I’m incredibly disappointed and angry, that was my podium and I could have gone even higher. Losing a podium finish is never fun, but once I’ve slept on it I’ll be satisfied with our weekend.

Martin thought Stureson crossed the line in the incident, but will remember it for the future.
– I think Stureson saw a gap I didn’t know existed and which only he could see. I suppose he has his own version of events, but I’ll take this as a learning experience and remember it for the future.

Now Martin is looking forward to making more progress at the race at Mantorp in two weeks. He has already shown that he is a contender for the top spots.
– I have the speed to make it to the top. I’ve made the transition to the STCC now, I got a perfect start and saw a big gap on the inside which looked as though it were made for me. I still miss Richard a lot and hope he will be back soon, but we definitely have speed to build on. The others have seen that I’m going to be up there shaking things up now, Martin says.

Dick Jönsson Wigroth was also happy to see Martin do so well this weekend and see the speed he showed during the two days at Ring Knutstorp.
– We’re not exactly great fans of Stureson right now, but what goes around comes around, says Dick. It felt a bit tight but drivers are probably always likely to see any and all gaps no matter how small they may be. All in all this weekend still went better than expected. We’ve given Martin our full support and a fast car, and he did a flawless job with it. Things can only get better, I think. I guess everyone now understands why we don’t need another driver for a few races. Martin showed what we’ve believed all along, that he’s in it to fight for the top spots, Dick finishes.

The next race for the STCC will be at Mantorp Park in two weeks, but WestCoast Racing will be off for the premiere of the Swedish GT series as early as next weekend.

Results, race 2 Ring Knutstorp:
1: Mattias Andersson, Alfa Romeo 19 varv
2: Johan Stureson, BMW + 0,564
3: Colin Turkington, BMW + 1,145
4: Patrik Olsson, Volkswagen + 2,381
5: Tommy Rustad, Volvo + 3,050
6: Fredrik Ekblom, Volkswagen + 3,858
7: Jan Nilsson, BMW + 4,157
8: Andreas Ebbesson, BMW + 6,922
9: Jason Watt, SEAT + 10,723
10: Martin Öhlin, BMW + 10,824
11: James Thompson, Volvo + 11,856
12: Alx Danielsson, SEAT + 13,034
13: Joakim Ahlberg, BMW + 23,987
14: Tommy Lindroth, SEAT + 51,253
15: Viktor Hallrup, Chevrolet + 5 varv

DNF:
Tobias Johansson, Tomas Engström, Rickard Rydell, Roger Eriksson, Robin Appelqvist

Richard Göransson is out of racing for at least three months after injuring his spine during the STCC premiere in Denmark. The reigning champion is going to miss his first STCC race in eight years this weekend.
”Right now it is nice not having to think about racing. But it is also a bit strange as racing always has been a part of my life,” said Göransson.

Göransson lost brake pressure at 190 km/h and hit a concrete barrier at close to 90 km/h.

”If you miss your brake point as much as one meter, you know that things are going to get messy. I was doing 190 km/h and the pedal just went to the floor, when I managed to get the pressure back up it was too late. I guess 190 km/h is not that quick in a racing car, but when there are no margins left, it suddenly becomes very fast,” said Göransson.

The force of the crash left Göransson with two fractured vertebrae and a completely destroyed BMW 320si.

”The pain was indescribable. It felt like someone shoved an iron rod in to my back. You kind of think that you are indestructible and that you can just walk out of the car, wave to the spectators and head down the pitlane to talk about the next race. But it hit me quite quickly that it was not going to be the case,” said Göransson.

The doctors at the Århus Hospital in Denmark established that Göransson had to be out of racing for at least three months.

”The doctors have said that I am going to fully recover but that it is going to take time. I have to wear a support corset for three months and stay off physical training. But I am in too much pain now anyway, how things turn out further ahead is something I have to discuss with the doctors,” said Göransson.

The fact that the crash was caused by the fact that the team missed to fasten a rear brake pad properly is not something Göransson is focused on.

”I have 100 % confidence for Dick [Jönsson-Wigroth, team principal] and everyone at WestCoast Racing. As soon as they knew the cause of the accident they acted professional. This is not only hard for me, it is hard for everyone in the team and the way that they have handled it is impressive,” said Göransson.

Something that Göransson’s focus is on is his eventual comeback in the STCC later this year.

”Neither me nor WestCoast Racing are here to finish second. We are here to win and the goal for this year was to claim the final gold under the current regulations. That is obviously not going to happen, we have to set up new goals together. One thing is for sure, I am coming back when the team and I feel that we can win, not a day earlier than that. It is a clear goal, we cannot win the championship this year, but when we do return, we are returning to fight for the individual race wins that are left. I have a long-term contract with the team and we are for sure going to win again,” said Göransson.

Richard Göransson will not be replaced in the race he will be away from in STCC. WestCoast Racing has together with the teams partners evaluated the situation and believes Richard Göransson can’t currently be replaced. WestCoast Racing will now put all focus and support behind Martin Öhlin instead.
“We chose to park Richards car until he is ready to return and there are three reasons behind this,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth explains. “Firstly it’s out of respect for Richard. The number 1 belongs to him and no one else and we don’t feel he can be replaced by any other driver currently. Secondly WestCoast Racing always want to give our drivers the best possible conditions and we don’t feel we can give that to a replacement driver right now. Thirdly we now feel we must give Martin Öhlin all possible support as he tackles his rookie season in STCC. His performance in Denmark became overshadowed but we were impressed by his second race and that is a performance we would like to build on.”

WestCoast Racing will also increase the GT-programme for 2011 with a full season in the Swedish GT-series as well as additional races in the German ADAC GT Masters with the completely new BMW Z4 GT3.

WestCoast Racing has determined the cause of Richard Göranssons accident at Jyllandsringen in Denmark. Investigation of the car and the data shows that a rear brake pad fell off the car causing Göransson to lose brake pressure and rear brakes. Team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth explains.
“This is a mistake by the team that we take full responsibility for and deeply regret. WestCoast Racing works with control systems and check lists to prevent things like this to happen. We always put safety for our drivers and our crew first and we have never experienced anything like this before. It’s the human factor that has struck us this time and as a team we deeply regret this. All safety systems in the car and for the driver has worked as they are supposed to which has been a contributing factor to limit the consequences of this accident. We are going to look at our routines once again and make sure this is not something that will happen again. Our thoughts are now with Richard and his family and we are supporting them in Richards recovery.”

Summary of the accident

The accident occurred on the penultimate lap of the first STCC-race of the season at Jyllandsringen in Denmark. Richard Göransson was leading by 8,1 seconds and drove safely to keep the lead constant. He approached the first corner with a speed of 184 kph as he started braking. At this time the rear brake pad fell off causing Richard to lose brake pressure and locking up the front wheels making it impossible to stear. The car went off the track at 107 kph. According to the findings of the team an asphalt edge at the end of the track contributed to him getting slightly airborne and not touching the first part of the gravel trap. He hit the tyre barrier and the concrete wall behind it with a speed of 86 kph. Richard Göransson has done everything in his power to prevent the accident to happen. No suppliers are to be blamed for the accident and all safety devices in the car and for the driver has worked as they are supposed to work. The G-force systems in the car measure a maximum G-force of 5G and that is the G-forces measure for both the first impact and the return impact back from the concrete wall. The team findings estimate the G-forces for the first hit with the concrete barriers to be at least 10-20G.