Polestar Cyan Racing’s Thed Björk closed on the lead of the World Touring Car Championship standings in Portugal, where the Volvo driver took two podium finishes.
Björk claimed his first-ever double podium results in the WTCC on the streets of Vila Real, securing third in the Opening Race before converting his front row starting position into second in the Main Race.
As a result, the Swede has closed on championship leader Tiago Monteiro in Portugal, moving to within four points of the Honda driver and leap-frogging team-mate Nicky Catsburg in the standings.
“It’s a great feeling to be here and it was amazing outside on the podium,” said Björk. “I’m really happy; my goal was to be fighting and a double podium in this series is really good, as it’s really demanding. Everything works really well and we will keep pushing.”
Björk believes that the new ‘joker lap’ format has worked well for the racing, as he used it to pass Tom Chilton for what was then fifth in the Opening Race.
“I think it was introduced in quite a short time and they [Eurosport Events] really fought and pushed to make it happen,” said Björk. “As we saw it was a good result so I think they take the knowledge that they know from here now and will see what they can do in the future.
“It worked out well for us and it’s more tactical; there are a lot of things to think about. You’re always a little bit afraid in the beginning about new stuff, that’s normal, but I think it worked out really well.”
Björk leaves Portugal second overall in the championship with 160 points.