Thrilling STCC races at Gelleråsen

[JMeissner]

Gelleråsen Race
STCC 19/08/01

Race One

Roberto Colciago won the STCC race today (Sunday) at Gelleråsen ahead of his team mate Tommy Kristoffersson in second with Volvo's Jens Edman in third. And it was one of the most exciting and thrilling races for long. The field had to pass the start/finish line three times before the organizers found it suitable to start. The drivers were really on the edge. Jens Edman held the lead from the start. Tommy Kristoffersson was right behind. The previous championship leader Carl Rosenblad didn't have a good race at all. He went off the track in the trösencorner during the first lap.

Kristoffersson was really pushing in his Audi. After only a few laps he managed to push his Audi past Edman in to the lead. Mean while Tobias Johansson and Mattias Andersson was having a huge fight. It ended in a big shunt that resulted in both of them forced to retire. Johansson was stranded in the gravel trap while Andersson managed to limp back in to the pits. This made the pacecar to come out. The top five was now Kristoffersson-Edman-Colciago-Karlsson-Nyström.

After only a while the organizers decided to red flag the race, some cars were too difficult to get out of the track. The cars started in the order they were behind the pacecar. And as the start went Niklas Karlsson was really getting hot in his Alfa. He makes a stunning start and after a while he is actually up on second place, right behind Colciago who now had the lead. The action was far from over in the race, newcomer Thed Björk and Niklas Lovén clashed which resulted in both of them going off the track. Safetycar again...

The safetycar went back in again with nine laps to go. And the sensational Nicklas Karlsson was pushing hard. At one point he managed to get his Alfa Romeo 156 alongside Colciago threatening him for the lead! But after that it seemed as if Karlsson had pushed his tyres a bit too hard. Colciago was pulling away while Kristoffersson was closing up fast behind. Karlsson never managed to keep Kristoffersson behind for long. And as he went past Edman, Nilsson and Mörth also passed him during the following laps. But it was certainly a strong effort by Karlsson.


Race One

1 Roberto Colciago Audi A4 Quattro 15 laps
2 Tommy Kristoffersson Audi A4 Quattro +5.576
3 Jens Edman Volvo S40 +7.680
4 Jan Nilsson Volvo S40 +8.091
5 Pontus Mörth Opel Vectra +8.673
6 Niklas Karlsson Alfa Romeo 156 +12.629
7 Hubert Bergh Honda Accord +12.751
8 Peter Hallén BMW 320i +13.154
9 Niklas Lovén Vauxhall Vectra +15.556
10 Tomas Engström Chrysler Stratus +18.064
11 Anders Hammer Audi A4 Quattro +18.270
12 Lennart Bohlin Ford Mondeo +34.368



Race Two

Janne "Flash" Nilsson was back after his dreadful start of this weekend. He managed to stay ahead of the four-wheel driven Audi A4 on the short and twisty Gelleråsen circuit. He finished one second ahead of Colciago with Kristoffersson another 1.6 seconds behind in third. Flash took the lead already in to the first corner, a lead which he never lost. Colciago was right behind. The order after the first race was Flash-Colciago-Andersson-Kristoffersson.

While Flash and Colciago were in a class of there own. A fight was developing between Andersson and Kristoffersson for third place. Andersson was using his extra power in the Vauxhall on the straight while Kristoffersson was closing up quick in the twisty section on the course. As eight laps of the race were gone Kristoffersson finally made a move and passed Andersson. Andersson couldn't respond and had to settle with fourth place.

Carl Rosenblad was making his way up through the field. He started from the back since he went off the track in the first corner in the previous race. With only one lap to go Rosenblad was all over Tobias Johansson. And as they came up to the start/finish straight for the final time Rosenblad had moved up a place to eight, demoting Johansson down to ninth. But Johansson did take the victory in the privateer's cup and increased his already huge points lead.


Race Two

1 Jan Nilsson Volvo S40 18 laps
2 Roberto Colciago Audi A4 Quattro +1.044
3 Tommy Kristoffersson Audi A4 Quattro +2.654
4 Mattias Andersson Vauxhall Vectra +8.669
5 Pontus Mörth Opel Vectra +8.961
6 Jens Edman Volvo S40 +12.560
7 Hubert Bergh Honda Accord +14.635
8 Carl Rosenblad Nissan Primera +16.248
9 Tobias Johansson Audi A4 Quattro +18.381
10 Niklas Lovén Vauxhall Vectra +20.436
11 Magnus Krokström Audi A4 Quattro +23.063
12 Peter Hallén BMW 320i +25.781
13 Tomas Engström Chrysler Stratus +27.990
14 Anders Hammer Audi A4 Quattro +28.849
15 Thed Björk Alfa Romeo 156 +30.110
16 Lennart Bohlin Ford Mondeo +30.822

Johan Meissner
johan@touringcartimes.com