Polestar Racing has announced today that their Volvo C30 DRIVe WTCC racing car will have its premiere in Brazil. The Volvo C30 DRIVe WTCC will compete for the first time in the FIA World Touring Car Championship 2011 season at Curitiba this weekend. Polestar's racer is part of an evaluation program, developed with Volvo's approval, for the C30 DRIVe commercial and technical potential. The 2011 WTCC season represents a testing phase for the Volvo C30 DRIVe, as the car prepares for the 2012 season.
Volvo's C30 DRIVe is not a stranger to the touring car racing scene. Polestar raced it successfully in the Swedish and Scandinavian Touring Car Championships.
Currently, the Polestar's Volvo C30 DRIVe WTCC is powered by the 2.0-liter engine, but the team will switch to a 1.6 turbo later in the season.
The full calendar of the Polestar Volvo C30 DRIVe for the 2011 WTCC season is available after the jump.
Volvo Press Release:
WTCC PREMIERE IN BRAZIL FOR POLESTAR RACING
The FIA World Touring Car Championship 2011 season kicks off at Curitiba in Brazil this weekend, marking the start of the evaluation season for Polestar Racing in the championship.
Polestar Racing got the green light from Volvo Car Corporation last year to launch a one-car programme for the WTCC 2011 as a commercial and technical evaluation ahead of 2012.
"Volvo Cars has given us a sound mission to evaluate the championship, meaning that we are
initially not focusing on results but rather on preparing a base that we could build upon for 2012. We have got an exciting and rewarding challenge ahead of us," said Christian Dahl, Managing Director of Polestar Racing.
The Polestar Racing prepared Volvo C30 DRIVe is a proven winner with multiple titles and race victories in the Swedish and Scandinavian Touring Car Championships. But a lot of development work is needed for the new WTCC tracks, as well as the new engine regulations.
"We are starting the season with our current two litre engine, before later in the year switching to an all-new 1.6 turbo engine, based on a completely new Volvo engine family. We are currently working flat out with the new engine and we are confident of our progress," said Dahl.
Robert Dahlgren is going to be on the grid with the 2011 specification Volvo C30 DRIVe and he is keen to get going. "I am very much looking forward to the season start. The first race of the year is by no means going to be easy, especially with the high level of competition and the fact that we are new to the championship. But we have got a solid programme and we are ready," said Dahlgren.
The first race of the year is also going to showcase a new livery of the Volvo C30 DRIVe racing car. The car is painted in the distinctive Polestar-blue, also featured on the Volvo C30 Polestar concept prototype car.
Follow the efforts of Polestar Racing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship 2011 at www.volvopolestarracing.com for the latest news, results and more.
Calendar - WTCC 2011
18-20 March - Curitiba - Brazil
22-24 April - Zolder - Belgium
14-15 May - Monza - Italy
18-19 June - Brno - Czech Republic
01-03 July - Porto - Portugal
15-17 July - Donington Park - United Kingdom
30-31 July - Oschersleben - Germany
03-04 September - Valencia - Spain
21-23 October - Suzuka - Japan
04-06 November - Guangdong - China
17-20 November - Macau - China
