Polestar Cyan Racing heads to Japan holding the World Championship lead by half a point
Polestar Cyan Racing driver Thed Bjrk heads to Japan this weekend as the leader of the FIA World Touring Car Championship by the closest possible margin  half a point  with just three race weekends left of the season.
”I am right where I want to be. I am leading the championship and the car is as fast as it has ever been. Japan is one of my favourites on the calendar but we need to keep fighting hard to stay on top of the standings,” said Thed Bjrk.
Nicky Catsburg closed in on the title fight after the previous race in China, where he secured a podium, and is currently placed fourth, 22,5 points from team-mate Thed Bjrk.
”We scored a lot of points in the last race in China and I am closer to the top of the championship. We have a very competitive package currently and I feel confident for Japan where my ambition is to close the gap even further to the leaders,” said Nicky Catsburg.
Nstor Giorlami scored his maiden WTCC pole position and victory in China two weeks ago and is keen to keep his momentum up for Twin Ring Motegi this weekend.
”The feeling from the race weekend in China is extremely good. I had some good luck at last and we showed our true form in qualifying by claiming pole position in the wet conditions. I am going to keep this feeling going into the race weekend in Japan where I had a very good first race for the team last year,” said Nstor Girolami.
The fight in the WTCC manufacturers’ championship is equally tough and close as for the drivers, with Polestar Cyan Racing trailing main rivals Honda by just ten points.
”Our main competitor in Motegi, Honda, will be the home favorites with all the good support but pressure that goes with that. We can approach this race with a points target rather than with must-win pressure. We will of course fight for pole and race wins, but it is a big difference on stress levels between ‘aim’ and ‘must’, said Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar.
A typhoon passing between China and Japan has forced the WTCC organisation to move Free Practice 2 and Qualifying to Sunday due to delayed container shipment from Shanghai.
Follow Polestar Cyan Racing in the FIA WTCC Race of Japan at:*****
WTCC Race of Japan
Circuit: Twin Ring Motegi
Length: 4801 m
Lap record (WTCC): 1:57.136 (Tarquini)
Schedule
(Times in CEST)
Saturday 28/10
08:15 Free Practice 1 (45 min)
Sunday 29/10
01:00 Free Practice 2 (45 min)
02:40 Qualifying
03:40 MAC3
07:15 Race 1 (11 laps)
08:30 Race 2 (13 laps)
Championship Standings
Drivers’  Top 5
1 Thed Bjrk Volvo S60 200,5 pts
2 Tiago Monteiro Honda Civic 200 (-0,5)
3 Norbert Michelisz Honda Civic 198,5 (-2)
4 Nicky Catsburg Volvo S60 177,5 (-22,5)
5 Mehdi Bennani Citron C-Elyse 164 (-36,5)
…
9 Nstor Girolami Volvo S60 88 (-112,5)
Manufacturers’
1 Honda 640,5 pts
2 Volvo 630,5 (-10)
Compensation weights for Japan
Model  Time difference  Weight
Honda Civic  0.0 sec   80 kg
Volvo S60 Polestar   0.1 sec   70 kg
Citron C-Elyse   0.4 sec   40 kg
Chevrolet Cruze   0.7 sec   10 kg
Lada Vesta   1.3 sec   0 kg

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