WestCoast Racing will make its debut race in the German GT-series GT Masters. The round is held at the Nürburgring GP-track and team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth expects a tough weekend from which the team can learn a lot.
”Firstly we are here to learn for the future. We know the competition in GT Masters is the hardest possible and that’s why we want to be here. For us this is above anything else a test race but we’ve had two good test days at Hockenheim so it’s exciting to see how we will measure up in this tough competition,” he says.

WestCoast Racing will be the first team that will participate in the German series with the new BMW Z4 GT3 this season. During the week the team has tested at Hockenheim where Fredrik Lestrup and Lars Stugemo, the drivers for the weekend, were joined by WestCoast Racing’s multiple touring car champion Richard Göransson. Fredrik Lestrup looks forward to the weekend.
”We had two very good test days and made a lot of progress,” Fredrik says. ”It’s good prep work for the weekend, both for us as drivers and the whole team. We’ve found a stable set-up as a base and it’s been a good measurement to have Richard Göransson with us to provide feedback and competitive times.”

Fredrik expects to meet tough competition this weekend and keep his expectations low.
”Hopefully we can qualify well but the other teams have a lot of experience of not only the races in GT Masters but also the important pit stops. We must see this as a test race and evaluation for the future. We will face the a lot of hard competitors and we have a lot to learn. It’s not realistic to expect us to be at the front in our first race here but of course we always strive and aim high. It will be a lot of fun!”

Fredrik Lestrup will share the car with Lars Stugemo and they won the last race in the Swedish GT-series about a month ago. Lars Stugemo has previously driven selected VLN-rounds and the 24-hour race at Nordschleife and looks forward to drive his first race on the GP-track in GT Masters.
”I’ve had a lot of fun during our tests this weekend and this is a real adventure. WestCoast Racing is a great team and it’s been very helpful for me to test together with both Fredrik and Richard Göransson. Thanks to them I’ve improved and it’s great to see how fast Fredrik is. I need a good team mate and this weekend I will have that as well as a good car and a great team. I’m looking forward to this. I expect it to be very tough as there are no easy races at Nürburgring. The others have a lot of experience from this so it will be exciting,” Lars says.

Time schedule, GT Masters Nürburgring:

Friday July 8th:
08:30: Free practice, 1 hour
12:15: Free practice, 1 hour
15:10: Qualifying, 50 minutes

Saturday July 9th:
12:00: Race 1, one hour

Sunday July 9th:
12:00: Race 2, one hour

ADAC GT Masters official site

The second race in Falkenberg gave fewer points than the first race for WestCoast Racing. Richard Göransson finished sixth and Martin Öhlin retired after gearbox problems.
”What a boring race to be honest. I got caught behind Rydell’s Chevrolet and we have not chance on the straights behind that car and the Volkswagens. We are much quicker but can pass when they get away from us on the straights and you can’t do anything but just tag along,” Richard says.

The high temperatures in the cockpit got even worse for Richard when he was hit from behind which cracked the exhaust.
”It got a bit too hot and I burnt both my hands and my feet so the final laps were a struggle. Even so we had a decent weekend, we got another podium here and collected a lot of points again. My goal for the rest of the season is to win my own championship. It started in Gothenburg last race weekend and ends at the final race at Mantorp. We’ve had two good point weekends so far,” he finishes.

Martin Öhlin got a great start from 12th position and was up to ninth, just two spots behind Richard Göransson. After having had the second best lap time in the first race he showed that was no coincidence as he was fast yet again in this race. His race ended however when he no longer had fifth gear.
”Apparently you need that to be fast here. I got a great start and felt we yet again had strong race pace. Unfortunately it ended much too soon. I’m very happy with our race pace but I really must start qualifying better,” Martin says.

STCC now take a break for the summer before the action returns at Karlskoga August 12th and 13th.

Result top eight, heat 2 Falkenberg:
1: Jan Nilsson, BMW 25 laps
2: Johan Sturesson, BMW + 0,455
3: Colin Turkington, BMW + 1,972
4: Patrik Olsson, Volkswagen + 4,154
5: Rickard Rydell, Chevrolet + 4,486
6: Richard Göransson, BMW 4,923
7: Tommy Rustad, Volvo + 5,393
8: Fredrik Ekblom, Volkswagen + 7,654

Martin Öhlin DNF

The podiums keeps coming in Falkenberg. Richard Göransson drove a champions race from sixth place and finished second in the race at Falkenberg, after chasing winner Fredrik Ekblom hard in the second half of the race.
”The car was amazing, we had the best car of everyone. Finishing second from sixth place is pretty ok I think. It was a somewhat messy race in the beginning and oil on the track surprised all of us. It was a bit exciting but I got through it,” Richard says.

He was challenging Fredrik Ekblom for the victory but had to settle for second place as the turbo charged Volkswagen proved to be too quick on the straights.
”It was impossible to overtake him, he got several car lengths on me out on the straights. I put my headlights on and gave him a few friendly bumps but he is too experienced to fall for that so I had to settle for second. We have the car to win here though and we are always string here so we will go for another podium in the next race.” Richard will start in seventh place in the next race.

Martin Öhlin also proved the BMW is strong in race trim as he charged through the field from 17th place. He was up on 11th place, looking to overtake Viktor Hallrup for 10th place and set after eight place and pole for the second race. The plans changed however when Hallrup turned in on him and Martin spun off on the oil. He eventually charged back again, finishing 12th.
”It’s a shame, that eight place and pole för the second heat keeps getting away from me. I’m very pleased with the speed in me and the car in this race. Now we are where we really should have been yesterday. The pace was quick and it’s crap it sort of stopped when I tried to overtake Hallrup. With the speed we have in the car now it’s absolutely possible to salvage several points from this weekend in the next race,” Martin summarizes.

Next heat starts 3,35 pm.

Result, top eight  Falkenberg:

1: Fredrik Ekblom, Volkswagen 25 laps
2: R. Göransson, BMW + 0,570
3: R. Rydell, Chevrolet + 4,010
4: C. Turkington, BMW + 4,431
5: P. Olsson, Volkswagen + 11,763
6: T. Johansson, SEAT + 12,312
7: J. Sturesson, BMW + 12,732
8: J. Nilsson, BMW + 14,388

12: M. Öhlin, BMW + 30,101

WestCoast Racing had a mixed qualifying at Falkenberg. Richard Göransson went through to Q2 where he qualified sixth thus securing sixth starting sport for tomorrows first race.
”It’s weird but I’m actually happy. Normally I’m not happy with sixth place but I am this time. I feel I got everything out from me and the car this. We qualified as the best BMW and it’s difficult to ask for more in qualifying here,” Richard says.

He will now start sixth tomorrow and believes he has a good chance for the race. He started in a similar position here last year and went on to finish third and second in the two races.
”Sixth place might not be an ideal starting position but it was a similar case last year so I feel we have a good chance. The car feels very good over a race stint and we know that is where we are strong. I’m going to bed feeling happy and motivated for tomorrow.”

Martin Öhlin had a worse qualifying than his team mate and only finished 17th overall, three tenths from eight place and Q2 and only five tenths from pole.
”The car felt good but it just wasn’t enough. There’s nothing more to say, of course I’m not happy with this. The car felt good though so we will have to try and repair as much as possible tomorrow but the race is gonna be very tough,” Martin summarized.

Race 1 starts 1:05 pm followed by the second race 3:35 pm.

Qualifying, top eight Falkenberg:
1: F. Ekblom, Volkswagen 45,371
2: R. Rydell, Chevrolet + 0,063
3: Tommy Rustad, Volvo + 0,090
4: J. Kristoffersson, Volkswagen + 0,152
5: R. Eriksson, SEAT + 0,292
6: R. Göransson, BMW + 0,342
7: P. Olsson, Volkswagen + 0,412
8: C. Turkington, BMW + 0,416

17: M. Öhlin, BMW 46,002

The home track awaits WestCoast Racing. The fast track in Falkenberg has been a favourite track for WestCoast Racing through the years with a driver in the podium in every race since 2004. Richard Göransson has four podium finishes including one victory at this track from the last four races. He has one aim only for this weekend.
”It’s an high and ambitious goal but of course we aim to be on the podium in both races. This is our home track and we will have a team party afterwards so why not celebrate with a few podiums? I’m not in the championship fight now so good race weekends feels extra important and this is a track where we usually perform strong,” Richard says.

The weekend started on Thursday with an official STCC-test. Richard had the sixth fastest time but doesn’t think that has any bearings on the weekend.
”Testing is always testing, immediately afterwards you are kind of confused since we test so many different things every time. Of course I’m not happy with the time but I’m very happy with the feeling in the car. We don’t get any points for testing and it’s completely different when it’s time for qualifying and race. The weather seems to be a bit more cold tomorrow and on Saturday so that will change things also. As I said, we have set high targets.”

Martin Öhlin spent his test day driving a lot of laps as the team worked on different settings on his car. He ended the test day with 13th fastest time.
”Of course I’m not happy being so far down in the time sheets but this was not that kind of test day. We tested a lot of new settings on the car and that was our focus. Now I will have to sit down and go through all the things we tested but the weekend has started,” Martin says.

He aims for a lot of points this weekend as he wants to climb in the championship. He enjoys the Falkenberg track where he has race the Porsche the last three seasons and believes he will have a good weekend.
”The track likes me and I like the track. It’s a fun track to race at but at the same time very difficult and you can easily lose a lot of time. I enjoy it here and believe we can have a good weekend. It wouldn’t be bad to points with us from this weekend, and it would be really good with a lot of points from this weekend. That is an obvious goal, score as many points as possible.”

The race weekend starts Friday afternoon with free practice followed by qualifying later in the afternoon.

WestCoast Racing, podium finishes at Falkenberg 2003-2010:
2010: Richard Göransson 2:nd and 3:rd
2009: Richard Göransson 3rd and 1:st
2008: Fredrik Ekblom 1:st, Robin Rudholm 2:nd
2007: Fredrik Ekblom 2:nd
2006: Duncan Huisman 3:rd
2005: Richard Göransson 2:nd
2004: Richard Göransson 1:st and 1:st

Time schedule, STCC Falkenberg

Thursday 30/6
09.00 Test 1
13.30 Test 2

Friday 1/7
14.20 Test
17.20 Q1
17.45 Q2

Saturday 2/7
09.20 Warm up
13.05 Race 1 STCC
15.35 Race 2 STCC

TV-schdule, STCC

Viasat Motor
Saturday 2/7
12.30 Race 1, STCC
15.15 Race 2, STCC

SVT
Sunday 3/7
16.00 SVT2

Weight list, STCC Falkenberg

1225 kilo: BMW 320si E90 [6 speed SQ-box] 1210 kilo: BMW 320si E90 [5 speed H-box]
1210 kilo: Volkswagen Scirocco
1205 kilo: Chevrolet Cruze
1199 kilo: Volvo C30
1170 kilo: Honda Accord
1160 kilo: Alfa Romeo 156
1140 kilo:SEAT León TFSi
1120 kilo: SEAT León TFSi [Jason Watt] 1120 kilo: BMW 320i E46