Nurburgring Nordschleife WTCC: Bjork wins opener for Polestar Volvo
Polestar Volvo's Thed Bjork took his second World Touring Car Championship victory of the 2017 season in the opening race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

Bjork had started sixth for the reversed grid race, but a rapid start propelled him to fourth as he squeezed between Tom Chilton and Tom Coronel when the lights went out.
A poor start from front row starter Esteban Guerrieri meant Bjork was running third by the time the WTCC grid went through the first corner.
A duel between polesitter Nestor Girolami and Mehdi Bennani involved a touch of wheels at the start, allowing Bjork to sit close behind them.
Bjork had to wait until the two mile straight at the end of the opening lap to slipstream his way past Bennani and into second, before repeating the feat on the second tour to wrestle the lead from Girolami.
The Volvo driver then ran unchallenged to the flag ahead of Bennani, with Girolami's race ruined by a puncture that forced him into the barriers and elevated the privateer Munnich Motorsport Citroen of Rob Huff into third.

Huff worked his way up the grid from eighth with a series of impressive passes and moved clear of Chilton for the final podium place on the last lap.
Fifth went the way of Guerrieri, who progressively slipped down the order after a poor start from second.
Nicky Catsburg won the duel for sixth in his Volvo after defending resolutely from the Honda of Norbert Michelisz and ROAL Motorsport's Tom Coronel.
Yann Ehrlacher was ninth ahead of Sebastien Loeb Racing's John Filippi and the Honda of Ryo Michigami.
The third works Honda of championship leader Tiago Monteiro struggled for pace throughout the race and picked up a puncture late on that left him last on the road.
RESULTS - 3 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thed Bjork | Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo | 26m24.961s |
2 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 2.538s |
3 | Rob Huff | Munnich Motorsport | Citroen | 3.096s |
4 | Tom Chilton | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 3.732s |
5 | Esteban Guerrieri | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 8.487s |
6 | Nicky Catsburg | Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo | 8.910s |
7 | Norbert Michelisz | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 16.496s |
8 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 16.796s |
9 | Yann Ehrlacher | RC Motorsport | Lada | 19.481s |
10 | John Filippi | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 22.889s |
11 | Ryo Michigami | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 23.380s |
12 | Kevin Gleason | RC Motorsport | Lada | 24.118s |
13 | Aurelien Panis | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 34.158s |
14 | Daniel Nagy | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 35.457s |
15 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 5m14.304s |
- | Nestor Girolami | Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo | Retirement |

WTCC Nordschleife: Michelisz steals pole with final flying lap
Volvo's Catsburg takes WTCC lead with Nurburgring Nordschleife win

Latest news
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
This season the World Touring Car Championship looks certain to bring joker laps to a circuit-racing world championship for the first time. And it need not be the daft gimmick people may think
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
He has been overshadowed at Citroen for the last three seasons, but the retirement of Yvan Muller means the world says farewell to one of touring-car racing's finest talents
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
Volvo gave the World Touring Car Championship a major boost when it announced it would enter the series, but its ambitions don't stop there. JACK COZENS examines its programme, the S60 and what its arrival means for the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
A 17-car field on a 13-mile track - the WTCC's Nurburgring Nordschleife gamble wasn't going to be easy to pull off. STUART CODLING explains how the series made it work
Insight from a Nordschleife master
World championship racing returns to the Nordschleife this weekend. STUART CODLING got a lesson from one of the legendary track's few masters
Becoming world champion for £100k
The 2012 World Touring Car champion says he never had the money to race cars. Yet 2015 is his 11th season in the WTCC. He talks STUART CODLING through his journey from motorsport fan to paid professional - for little more than £100,000
Can the vanquished champion bounce back?
The World Touring Car Championship kicks off in Argentina this weekend, and Yvan Muller bids to reclaim his throne from Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez. He talks to STUART CODLING
The top 10 WTCC drivers of 2014
Citroen had no rivals during the 2014 World Touring Car Championship, and 'rookie' Jose Maria Lopez hit the ground running to emerge as a worthy champion. PETER MILLS rates the field
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.