Though Robert Dahlgren’s normally-aspirated Volvo C30 was outpaced by the turbo cars in Monza, the Swedish driver and Volvo Polestar Racing were satisfied after the Italian event.
"It was our best race weekend so far looking at the steps we have taken forward with the car," said Dahlgren.
Christian Dahl, Managing Director of Volvo Polestar Racing explained: "It was very useful for us to complete both races and we have got loads of new data to analyze."
Compared to the lap times set last year at Monza, when most of the teams used normally-aspirated engines, Dahlgren was only two tenths away from the fastest laps.
"The car keeps getting better and better. We have definitely improved the chassis in both qualifying and race conditions. We are really pleased with the first three race meetings of this development season," said Dahlgren. "It is going to be really interesting in the next event, because the Hungaroring is new to everyone in the championship. The track is twisty and should suit our car much better than Monza."
Robert Dahlgren’s Volvo C30 fighting for mid-field positions at Monza
POULSEN LEADS THE YOKOHAMA TROPHY
Kristian Poulsen and Norbert Michelisz shared victories at Monza in the Yokohama Trophies, with Darryl O’Young claiming one third and one second. The battle for the top positions in the Trophy is incredibly close.
Poulsen has scored three race wins so far in his Liqui Moly BMW 320 TC, one in each event, and managed to build a small gap; the Dane leads with 45 points, 12 ahead of the trio formed by Michelisz (Zengö Dension Team BMW), Darryl O’Young (bamboo-engineering Chevrolet) and Javier Villa (Proteam Racing BMW) who have won one race apiece.
Poulsen’s team mate Franz Engstler has been very consistent so far and lies fifth, 21 points behind the leader, but still did not manage to win a race.
Other drivers have proved to be competitive, but lacked luck so far, like Michel Nykjær and Fredy Barth (both SUNRED SEAT) and Mehdi Bennani (Proteam Racing BMW) who scored only a few points in Monza.
Kristian Poulsen, Norbert Michelisz and Darryl O’Young on the podium