Four-time STCC-champion Richard Göransson will miss half the season after his dramatic accident at Jyllandsringen in Denmark. It was on the penultimate lap that Richard Göransson, due to brake failure, went off the track and hit a concrete barrier at the end of the start and finish straight. Richard never lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital where doctors confirmed fractures on two vertebras. With him at the hospital were his dad, team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth, the teams pressmanager Ola Lennström and the teams third driver Fredrik Lestrup.

Richard is well considering the consequences and could take his first step on Sunday morning. Doctors estimate the time to recovery to three months. This means Richard Göransson won’t return to the tracks until end of August. Team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth returned to Sweden the day after the accident.
“It was a serious accident and both Richard and the car were subjected to extreme forces. It’s obviously bad news that he will be out of the cockpit for such a long time but most important is that we now have confirmed information about his condition. It’s a testament to the high level of safety of these cars that he was not more seriously hurt. Our thoughts are with Richard and we will support him completely in his coming recovery.”

Martin Öhlin had an eventful first STCC-weekend as he and the team endured a dramatic weekend at Jyllandsringen in Denmark. Martins teammate Richard Göransson crashed heavily in the first race and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with fractures to two vertebras and will have a three month long recovery. Martin had a difficult qualifying where he spun on his fastest lap on his way to top eight and Q2. He lined up 12th on the grid for the first race.

In the first race Martin lost a couple of places around the outside on the first lap and was later forced to retired with a broken front end as he battled his way up the field. For the second race Martin lined up 16th on the grid and had a much better start. He could gain four places on the first lap and was after that one of the fastest cars on the track and managed to climb to seventh place in the end and gain his first STCC-points.
– It was fun to race and the car was fantastic in the second race, Martin said afterwards. I felt totally at home in the car and it was nice to be able to gain some revenge after the first race.

Martin left Denmark on Sunday morning and summarized a eventful first race weekend in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship.
– I have a lot of impressions with me from this weeekend. One of them is that I must improve my qualifying. But we could show we already have the speed so I’m very optimistic. But first of all I hope my team mate Richard recovers quickly, it was a nasty accident and I hope he will come back as soon as possible.

Team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth seeks comfort from Martins strong second race in what proved to be a very dramatic season opener for WestCoast Racing.
– This was a different weekend for us but we showed strong dominating pace in both races, he said. Richard did an amazing first race and Martin was equally strong in the second race. The weekend did not work out as planned with Richards terrible accident but Martin could give us a strong finish. He showed we have the speed in both cars and he will build on this. Our thoughts are now with Richard Göransson as he will recover from the injuries.

Richard Göransson led the first race with over eight seconds to second place when he on the penultimate lap had a violent crash into the concrete wall at the first turn. He was concious and was taken to the hospital where they confirmed fractures on two vertebras. The length of revocery is estimated to at least three months but Richard Göransson could take his first steps at the hospital on Sunday. The cause of accident is yet unknown and the team will undertake a complete technical investigation of the car to determine the cause of the accident. Martin Öhlin andWestCoast Racing supports Richard Göransson in his recovery. Richard Göransson will most likely be released from the hospital on Wednesday and return home to Sweden. WestCoast Racing will continually provide updates on his condition and the investigation at www.westcoastracing.se

The next round is Knutstorp in Sweden in two weeks time.

One of them is the most winning driver in STCC with 34 race victories and four titles. The other is STCC-rookie with a third place overall in Carrera Cup Scandinavia behind him. 2011 is the year when Martin Öhlin will show everyone what he is made of. And Richard Göransson will just do what he always does: Win!

STCC this year is the Scandinavian Touringcar Championship. The Scandinavian part is the only Danish driver in the field, Jason Watt, and 2009 STCC-champion Tommy Rustad from Norway. But adding to the already competitive field is Englishman James Thompson joining Polestar Volvo and Northern Irishman Colin Turkington joining Flash Engineering. Former BTCc-champion and WTCC-driver Rickard Rydell will also join the field as he makes a comeback with the Swedish Chevrolet Team.
“This will be a very interesting season, a lot of good drivers who will not give an inch to anyone,” Richard Göransson agrees.

Göransson has an advantage in being one of the most experienced STCC-drivers. He joined the championship and WestCoast Racing in 2003 and has a knack for finding the fastest way around the Swedish tracks in the BMW.
“It might be a small advantage but the largest part of our success is that the team is so well put together, everyone knows what they are supposed to do and they always do their best. That’s why we could win in 2010 despite just being a one car team then.”

This year Westcoast Racing is back to being a two car team with an additional WCR-liveried BMW driven by Martin Öhlin. He joins the highly competitive touring car field after having had success in Carrera Cup Scandinavia and sees this as a learning year for him. But one with high ambitions.
“There are of course a big difference driving the BMW compared to the Porsche I’m used to,” Martin explains. “The corner speed is much higher and you use the car in a very different way. But I aim to fight at the top and assist Richard and the team in getting more success.”

WestCoast Racing adds a third driver to the line-up. Fredrik Lestrup joins the team as race- and development driver in the GT-programme where he will be a part of developing the new BMW Z4 GT3. Fredrik Lestrup will in addition to be one of the teams main GT-drivers also act as a reserve driver for the STCC-team. Fredrik drove one GT-race for the team last year, teaming up with former Le Mans-winner Stanley Dickens and winning the GT-round at Ring Knutstorp.
”It feels natural to continue together after I’ve had my eyes on Fredrik a long time,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth says. “Fredrik will drive at least five races in the GT-car with an aim to drive the full Swedish GT-season and add additonal races in the German GT-series. Fredrik will also be present at all the STCC-weekends as a reserve driver and responsible for our sponsor track driving experience. We want to continue support young drivers we believe in and Fredrik will be a perfect fit to our team.”

Fredrik Lestrup will be driving at least five GT-races for WestCoast Racing both in Sweden and Europe and he is also part of a planned test programme with the new car. He looks forward to the season and working together with WestCoast Racing.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for me and it feels great that it’s finally a reality after Dick and I have talked about working together for a long time,” Fredrik says. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to develop as a driver and be part of a winning team such as WestCoast Racing. In a way this is already my best season as a racing driver and I can’t wait for it to start.”

Fredrik will combine his duties with WestCoast Racing by continue racing in the German MINI Challenge Championship where he will enter his fourth season. WestCoast Racing already has plans for additional GT-races in Europe besides the already planned programme around Fredrik Lestrup.

Reigning STCC-champions WestCoast Racing becomes the first European team to be environmentally certified.
“Winning STCC is big but leading the environmental race is even bigger for us,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth says.

For the Halmstad based company this means a big change in how to operate, with everything from waste separation, recycling, environmental deals, optimization, demands towards partners and race organizers and much more.
“We are working in a field where you can very easily be regarded as non-environmental. That is why we decided to certify the team. During this process we understood better how to handle environmental issues and interestingly enough is not the sport itself and the cars that are the big problem. Most work can be done in how public gets to and from the tracks,” Dick continues.

The certification is a big investment for the team but WestCoast Racing believes it is an investment that will be paid back. A large part of the team partners are already certified and the race tracks have come a long way in their work with the environment.

WestCoast Racing has won the drivers title in STCC a record five times and the team championship twice. The company has 10 full time employees and an annual turn over of 16 MSEK. In 2011 WestCoast Racing will compete with two cars in STCC, driven by reigning champion Richard Göransson and STCC-rookie and former Carrera Cup driver Martin Öhlin. In addition to STCC Westcoast Racing will also have a GT-programme with selected races with a BMW Z4 GT2 in Sweden and Europe.