The list of the number of car races I have been to and photographed can be made long. STCC, DTM, WTCR and Formula 1 to name a few. When they finally succeeded in getting the new version of the STCC started with only all-electric cars and once again a track and race in Gothenburg, expectations were high! On site in Gothenburg after a long journey from the Nürburgring where I had been to an event, I actually chose not to attend on Saturday as of course it rained in the usual Gothenburg spirit. But on Sunday I made sure to be there early. I picked up my accreditation at Ullevi. The racing track was built between Ullevi and Scandinavium. To get to the track, I had to go via Ullevi and inside the arena. I probably don't need to say that Ullevi is a really cool arena. Standing in there all alone feels really special. Then the road went out via one of the short sides of the arena and then you came directly to the depot where all the stables were. The charging of the racing cars also takes place next to the pit. Then the road continued to the actual track. This is not a real racing track but a landscaped track on a larger piece of asphalt. With removable concrete walls, sows model larger, the track has been set up. The length of the track is 624 meters so quite short and far from the Nürburgring's 25 kilometers, including the GP loop. In addition, the constructed track in Gothenburg was relatively narrow, so a full-scale race with all the cars could not be run. Instead, they ran a so-called Head 2 Head format where two drivers meet at a time. Then via a rather complicated points system, the drivers are pitted against each other. So nothing you can easily follow as a spectator like a normal race where a winner is chosen after each race. 

It's not that I want to complain about the recet in Gothenburg, but unfortunately there was a lot that was missing and didn't feel well done. Like, for example, the places for us photographers. Being able to get good pictures during a race, and especially a completely new race like this one in Gothenburg, should be the highest priority alongside the safety of the drivers. We photographers had been allocated two places where we had to stand at the runway. In addition, these two places were located on the inside of the track, which means you have to wait until a heat is finished, which was relatively quick because it was a short Head 2 Head race. But standing on the inside of a track and taking pictures has never felt right to me anyway. You kind of don't want the cars from that angle. If you then wanted to stand on the outside of the track, the entire track was covered by a yellow checkered fence that was too high to reach over. There wasn't a single hole in the grid where you could stick the camera out and avoid the grid in the picture. These places are everywhere on, for example, the Nürburgring where it is good and safe for the photographers to stand. But there wasn't a single hole here. At the place where I took the picture of Robert Dahlgren, I was driven away because it was not allowed to stand there even though there was no risk whatsoever of being hit. This is how you have to take a serious step and enlist the help of an experienced photographer who can join in and help when the locations for us photographers are to be decided. 

As I mentioned, I passed inside Ullevi when I went to the track. So when the disappointment of how the track was made next to Ullevi, I was of course struck by the thought of what it would take to put part of the track inside Ullevi? It would certainly have been a super cool race in every way, even if the stands had been empty considering how few people were unfortunately there to watch the race. Then I understand that it probably wouldn't have been completely easy to build a track that cars can drive on inside Ullevi, but the idea should have been enticing. 

I had a chat with Alexander Graff who drives a Volkswagen ID.3 for the Exion Racing team. Alexander's 11th place position may not have been what he had aimed for, but now the race was what it was and when he was going to briefly describe how it happened and how to count the points, he lost me very quickly. However, he is excited and looking forward to the upcoming races, which will hopefully be better because they will be held on normal and real racing tracks. Then maybe we will hopefully see some real racing and Graff in a higher position. 

Winner of today's race was Robert Dahlgren who drives for PWR Racing in a CUPRA Born. Robert was actually eliminated after the first day's final. The reason he was excluded from the final and semi-finals was after a technical check that showed an incorrectly mounted support arm. So on day one, Jimmy Eriksson took home the victory, but as I said after Dahlgren was ruled out by a technical soul. On day two, however, Dahlgren took revenge and took home the victory. 

The potential for this race is really top class so I really hope you do your best to make it better for next year if you plan to continue running a race in Gothenburg. What was held at Bananpiren in Gothenburg was truly world-class and fun for both the drivers, the audience and us photographers. The rest of the season will definitely be better because the race will be held on real tracks. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more real racing then. 

STCC Gothenburg

4 teams. Exion Racing, PWR Racing, Brink Motorsport

Number of drivers 12. 

Robert Dahlgren (PWR Racing) CUPRA Born

Jimmy Ericsson (Brink Motorsport) Tesla Model 3

Calle Bergman (Exion Racing) BMW i4

Viktor Gustavsson (Exion Racing) Volkswagen ID.3

Axel Bengtsson (PWR Racing) CUPRA Born

Tobias Brink (Brink Motorsport) Tesla Model 3

Månz Thalin (Exion Racing) BMW i4

Alexander Graff (Exion Racing) Volkswagen ID.3

Anton Marklund (PWR Racing) CUPRA Born

Mikael Karlsson (Brink Motorsport) Tesla Model 3

Ola Nilsson (Exion Racing) Volkswagen ID.3

Lukas Sundahl (Exion Racing) BMW i4

Antal rece 5, 8-9 June Gothenburg, 28-29 June Ljungbyhed, 24 August Helsingborg, 13-14 September Call Knutstorp, 20-21 Mantorp Park