Audi driver Fredrik Ekblom only narrowly missed a podium finish at the opening races of the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) at Knutstorp.

After the reigning champion had finished a disheartening fourth in the frist race, Ekblom’s Audi A4 was gunning for a podium finish in the second race. After a door-to-door duel with a competitor, whilst running second, the defending champion was given a 20-second penalty and dropped back to sixth place.

Knutstorp (S), 2 May, Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) round 1 1 Robert Dahlgren (Volvo) 15 laps in 16m 01.528s  2 Jan Nilsson (Volvo) + 2.800s 3 Richard Göransson (BMW) + 3.060s 4 Fredrik Ekblom (Audi A4 STCC) + 3.816s 5 Johan Stureson (Peugeot) + 11.125s

Knutstorp (S), 2 May, Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) round 2 1 Richard Göransson (BMW) 18 laps in 19m 04.760s  2 Jan Nilsson (Volvo) + 11.847s3 Johan Stureson (Peugeot) + 15.446s 4 Tommy Rustad (Opel) + 17.941s 5 Niklas Lovén (BMW) + 28.767s 6 Fredrik Ekblom (Audi A4 STCC) + 30.225s Positions after 2 of 20 rounds: 1 Göransson, 27 points; 2 Nilsson, 25; 3 Dahlgren, 20; 4 Stureson, 18; 5 Ekblom, 16.

Next race: Falkenberg (S), 16 May