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Lestrup Racing Team drivers Oliver Söderström and Andreas Bäckman claimed a victory and two podium finishes at Gelleråsen Arena, keeping in title contention ahead of the final two race weekends of 2022.

The first race saw Oliver Söderström converting his pole position to a strong victory while disaster struck in the second race where a competitor took him out at Turn 1.

The Swede bounced back in the third race, fighting from last to sixth position to salvage vital points.

”The first pole and win of the year was awesome, a huge thanks to everyone in the team who made this possible. The second race got an unfortunate early end, it was an idiotic move which makes me really disappointed. We got some revenge in the third race but still lost some points in the championship. But I have all but given up and we will be back strong for the next race,” said Oliver Söderström, who heads the junior standings.

Team-mate Andreas Bäckman completed a consistent race weekend with third in the first race, fifth in the second and a strong second place finish in the finale.

”I’m pleased with the result we managed to get from this weekend. We’ve taken a step forward compared to the previous races and my goal is definitely a victory before the season end,” said Andreas Bäckman.

The Audi duo is within two points of each other in fourth and fifth position overall respectively, trailing the points lead by 48 points with a total of 130 points left to fight for.

Lestrup Racing Team is a close second overall in the teams’ standings, with a margin of just 25 points to the top.

”Considering the incidents and issues that we faced, the result we managed to get is not too bad. We’re never satisfied until we’re on top of the results and the standings. But both Oliver and Andreas performed really well today and that bodes well for the final two races where we really need to be on our toes to claw back the gap in the standings,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

The next STCC TCR Scandinavia race takes place at Anderstorp on September 10-11.

Gelleråsen results
STCC points

Oliver Söderström netted a strong pole position, his first of 2022, in the STCC TCR Scandinavia qualifying at Gelleråsen Arena for Lestrup Racing Team.

”It feels really nice to claim my first pole of the season, especially as I really enjoy racing at this circuit. An added bonus is that we were able to extract this performance while carrying some extra weight in the car. We didn’t reach the result we wanted in Q2, but we are definitely going for the win in Race 1 tomorrow,” said Oliver Söderström.

The Audi RS 3 LMS II driver was fastest in the first qualifying session and third in the second, earning him three points to the drivers’ standings.

”We’ve had a solid day and Oliver performed really well, we’re just missing both cars on the front row which I think we have the speed for. But Andreas is still within reach of the top positions and I’m confident we can fight for a solid points haul in all three races tomorrow,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

Team-mate Andreas Bäckman claimed fifth and sixth on the grid for the first two races at Gelleråsen Arena in mid-Sweden.

”It was a tough qualifying for me, I hit traffic on my fastest laps and, unfortunately, I made some mistakes. But we’ve got three races ahead of us tomorrow where my ambition is to climb the order, something I for sure think we have the speed for,” said Andreas Bäckman.

The first of three races starts at 10:40 CEST tomorrow, watch them LIVE via: plus.stcc.se

Results Q1
Results Q2

The STCC TCR Scandinavia summer break is over and Lestrup Racing Team is heading to Gelleråsen Arena this weekend, aiming high for the fourth round of the season.

”Both Oliver and Andreas have shown strong speed so far this year and we’re working hard to get that last edge on our competitors. We haven’t tested the new Audi at Gelleråsen, but that’s been the case for almost all races this year and we’re in contention for both titles – which is our main goal,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

Oliver Söderström has climbed to second position overall after a consistent first half of the season, scoring four podium finishes from seven races.

”I’m driving for a win this weekend, as always. We’re carrying quite some weight at Gelleråsen, but we’re working hard to get the most out of our situation. We need to keep those points coming in and I can’t wait to get back on track again after the summer break,” said Oliver Söderström.

Team-mate Andreas Bäckman is placed fourth overall and scored his so far best result with second place at Knutstorp before the summer break.

”It’s great to be back at Gelleråsen, a track I haven’t raced at for four years. I’ve had a good feeling in the car for the past two race weekends and I look forward to see where we stand against our competitors after the summer break,” said Andreas Bäckman.

The Gelleråsen Arena race weekend starts on Friday with testing and qualifying, followed by three races on Saturday – all broadcast LIVE on: plus.stcc.se

Lestrup Racing Team drivers Oliver Söderström and Andreas Bäckman scored a podium each from the STCC TCR Scandinavia weekend at Knutstorp in the south of Sweden.

Reigning junior champion Oliver Söderström finished a strong second in a very wet first race and has climbed to second place overall in the standings.

”The first race was really good, but the weekend leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. The fact that this is my home race adds a lot of pressure and I wanted more from the races. I made some mistakes and had some of the toughest races of my career with a lot of wheel-to-wheel action. We are still in a strong position in the championship and we need to keep fighting hard to seriously challenge for the title fight in the final half of the season,” said Oliver Söderström.

Andreas Bäckman came very close to securing a victory in the third race, but had to settle for second after a mistake on the slippery circuit.

”It has been a tough race day at Knutstorp. The starts and the speed wasn’t really there for the first two races, then everything came together for the third race when I managed to get up into the lead. Unfortunately I made a mistake and dropped down to fourth, having to fight my way back to second. A big thanks to the team for all the hard work, it’s great to see the progress we make for each weekend and we had the fastest car in the final race,” said Andreas Bäckman, who has climbed to fourth overall.

Lestrup Racing Team has climbed to second position overall after the weekend at Knutstorp ahead of the last half of the season which starts on August 19-20 at Gelleråsen Arena.

”It’s frustrating that we had the speed for better results this weekend. But considering that we took delivery of our new Audis not that long ago, we take this as a strong sign ahead of the final season half. It won’t come easy and we have to fight hard to put everything together, but we know that we have the tools to properly challenge for the titles this year,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-owner.

Lestrup Racing Team driver Andreas Bäckman will start from the front row in both STCC TCR Scandinavia races at Knutstorp following another strong qualifying result.

”To start second in both races is really good, I am happy with the result. It was a competitive qualifying with small margins between the top drivers. Everything feels really good right now and we are getting better and better prepared for each race weekend,” said Andreas Bäckman.

Team-mate Oliver Söderström was close in both qualifying sessions and will start third in the first race, fourth in the second.

”It was an okay qualifying considering the results I had during practice. It is my home circuit and of course you want to be on pole. But we also know that we have more weight in our cars compared to others. It was a strong qualifying showing from both me and the team in total,” said Oliver Söderström.

This race weekend marks the first time Lestrup Racing Team has raced the all-new Audi RS 3 LMS II model at Knutstorp.

”Considering our very much limited data for the new Audi at Knutstorp and that we are carrying more weight this weekend, this is a result that we can be pleased with,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

”With that said, we are by no means stopping our push forward. We are turning every stone to find more pace ahead of the races tomorrow and challenge for victories.”

The first of three races this weekend starts at 11:20 CEST tomorrow, watch them LIVE via: plus.stcc.se

Results Q1
Results Q2

Lestrup Racing Team heads to southern Sweden this weekend for midpoint of the 2022 STCC TCR Scandinavia season at Knutstorp.

Knutstorp is the home circuit of Oliver Söderström who is placed third overall following a consistent pair of first race weekends, having finished on the podium in all races but one.

”Knutstorp is the most fun circuit of the calendar and it’s great to race on home turf. It adds some pressure, but at the same time the extra support that I get at Knutstorp is an added boost,” said Oliver Söderström.

”My goal is to win, but it isn’t easy in the STCC which is damn tough. In the end, it’s about scoring points and continue to be consistent. I’ve found some tricks in my training that helps me to focus and feel better and I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s races.”

Andreas Bäckman had a competitive but tough previous STCC race weekend at Skellefteå where he fought for the podium until a late puncture put an end to his chances.

”The speed was there in Skellefteå and we showed it by taking pole position and grabbing the lap record as well,” said Andreas Bäckman.

”Unfortunately, the race did not give the results that both I and the team had hoped for. But I feel hungry for more and I’m looking forward to competing at Ring Knutstorp. The last time I raced here was four years ago, so I do not have a lot of laps on the track, but it will be interesting to see how we stand against the other teams.”

Lestrup Racing Team is placed third overall in the team standings, just 16 points from the lead.

”We haven’t tested the new Audi at Knutstorp before, so we’re heading a bit into the unknown. But we are well prepared for the challenge and our goal is still the same and that is bring back the titles to Lestrup Racing Team,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

”Both Oliver and Andreas have performed really well so far this season and we are keen to keep building on that to get one step further up the result list this weekend.”