Robert Dahlgren romps to win number seven at Anderstorp
At Anderstorp, Robert Dahlgren comfortably took his seventh win of the season in TCR Scandinavia, further extending his points lead over his teammate Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky who finished second after a tough battle with Oliver Söderström.
Dahlgren made a clean launch from pole with Åhlin-Kottulinsky alongside him and the two PWR Racing CUPRA cars led into Turn 1, with Söderström’s Volkswagen Golf just behind them.
A few spots further back Tobias Brink tried to overcompensate for his relatively low grid position by trying to around the outside of Robin Knutsson but ran wide at the exit of the corner and dropped behind Mattias Andersson and Andreas Ahlberg.
Brink was able to regain one spot from Ahlberg a lap later, and eventually closed on Andersson by the end of the race, making his way past on the penultimate lap to regain the sixth-place with which he started the race.
Up front, Dahlgren built up a two-second lead over Åhlin-Kottulinsky who was left to defend herself against Söderström throughout the remainder of the race.
This came to a head on the final lap, when Söderström managed to get the overlap at Mattsons curve and edge ahead, but she battled back at the Grand Prix curve and retook the spot with slight side-to-side contact.
Söderström continued to fight back, tapping the rear of the CUPRA’s bumper, but was unable to get back ahead, with Åhlin-Kottulinsky securing second, and Söderström left with the final spot on the podium.
Hugo Nerman finished just off the podium in fourth, while Mikael Karlsson made the most progress in the race. The Lestrup Racing Team driver had failed to set a competitive time in qualifying and started 13th and last but managed to work his way up to seventh in the final order, behind Brink.
Dahlgren now leads the standings on 203 points, 56 ahead of Åhlin-Kottulinsky, while Brink lies third with a gap of 72.
Race 2 will start at 14:10 (CEST) with Dahlgren on pole once again and Brink alongside him.
Anderstorp – Race 1
1. Robert Dahlgren (PWR Racing CUPRA Leon Competición), 12 laps
2. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky (PWR Racing CUPRA Leon Competición), 6.027
3. Oliver Söderström (Lestrup Racing Team, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 6.354
4. Hugo Nerman (Micke Kågered Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 6.773
5. Robin Knutsson (Lestrup Racing Team, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 7.522
Championship points
1. R. Dahlgren 203 pts.; 2. M. Åhlin-Kottulinsky 147; 3. T. Brink 131
Picture: TCR Scandinavia
