After a difficult set of race weekends at both Paul Ricard and the Slovakiaring, Polestar Cyan Racing duo Thed Björk and Fredrik Ekblom came away from the Hungaroring this weekend with a pair of fourth place finishes.
This was amidst difficult conditions in terms of both weather and mechanical issues for the Swedish outfit, who are now on 66 points after three race weekends in four weeks.
Ekblom was first to have a chance of securing good points for himself and Polestar, as he lined up on the front row of the grid for race one, alongside pole sitter and eventual race winner, Sébastian Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani.
The 45-year-old would battle his way towards his best result of the season so far, having put up stiff opposition against both Tom Chilton and Nick Catsburg, who got past the Swede in the latter stages of the race.
”I am proud to claim my so far best result with a top five finish on a [for us] completely new circuit and in wet conditions, of which we have virtually no experience on with the new car,” said Ekblom, who previously raced in the WTCC back in 2007 with BMW Team UK alongside Andy Priaulx.
The feat was equalled in the second race, as Thed Björk was able to secure fourth in the main race of the day, which was won by Citroën Racing’s Jose María López.
Björk had qualified fifth for the race, having made his first appearance in the Q3 1-lap shootout on Saturday, but was able to tackle the rainfall like teammate Ekblom, even with an engine change occurring on Friday.
”I had an awesome race! I missed testing on Friday, had to start last in the first race and then had to fight an extremely slippery track,” said the 35-year-old, who is soon to become a father.
“To crown the weekend by being so close to a podium finish feels very rewarding.”
With both results being welcomed by the hard efforts from Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin’s team, it shows that the performance is gradually being unlocked by Polestar in the S60 TC1, as both drivers are now level in the drivers’ standings on 19 points.
“The wet conditions this weekend were probably the worst possible for us. That the team managed to deliver under these circumstances is incredibly inspiring,” explained Polestar’s Head of Motorsport.
“Next up is the tight street circuit in Marrakech, [which is] completely different to the first three races we’ve had and it is going to be very exciting taking on that challenge.”
The Race of Marrakech takes place in just two weeks’ time on May 7th-8th.