Robert Dahlgren takes two pole positions at Ljungbyhed

Two-time champion Robert Dahlgren led the way in qualifying at the season opener of the 2021 TCR Scandinavia championship at Ljungbyhed, with the PWR Racing CUPRA driver topping both qualifying sessions and securing poles for Races 1 and 2.
Dahlgren was quick to set the benchmark down in the first session with a time of 51.703 seconds in his Leon Competición, which no one else was able to beat in the 20-minute session.
The battle was close behind him, as Tobias Brink, in the Brink Motorsport Audi, and Dahlgren’s teammate Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky swapped second place between them, with Brink coming out on top by just under a tenth of a second.
Dahlgren and PWR Racing were so confident of his time, he didn’t even go out for a final run in Q1.
Oliver Söderström would make a last-minute improvement to be the best of the Volkswagen cars in fourth, now effectively the team leader at Lestrup Racing Team, while Mattias Andersson was fifth fastest in his new MA:GP-run Lynk & Co 03.
The top eight progressed into Q2, and at the start, Dahlgren blasted out two quick times on his first run, going faster still, putting pole well out of reach with a time of 51.489.
Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Brink again traded second place, with Brink’s time good enough for second, with Åhlin-Kottulinsky unable to improve her time on her second run.
Söderström was again fourth quickest, meaning the top four positions are the same for both of tomorrow’s first two races.
It was Söderström’s new Volkswagen teammate Mikael Karlsson who was fifth this time, just ahead of Andersson’s Lynk & Co.
The first two races are scheduled for tomorrow at 10:50 and 13:45 CEST, with the reversed grid Race 3 following at 16:40 local times (CEST).

Ljungbyhed – Qualifying Q1
51.703 Robert Dahlgren (PWR Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición)
51.828 Tobias Brink (Brink Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS)
51.918 Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky (PWR Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición)
52.007 Oliver Söderström (Lestrup Racing Team, Volkswagen Golf GTI)
52.019 Mattias Andersson (MA:GP, Lynk & Co 03)

Ljungbyhed – Qualifying Q2
51.489 Robert Dahlgren (PWR Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición)
51.731 Tobias Brink (Brink Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS)
51.858 Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky (PWR Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición)
51.869 Oliver Söderström (Lestrup Racing Team, Volkswagen Golf GTI)
52.023 Mikael Karlsson (Lestrup Racing Team, Volkswagen Golf GTI)

Championship points
1. R. Dahlgren 5 pts; 2. T. Brink 4; 3. M. Åhlin-Kottulinsky 3

Picture: TCR Scandinavia