Star Swede joins Priaulx

ANDY PRIAULX will have a teammate to assist his push for a third consecutive World Touring Car Championship this weekend. Sweden's local hero Fredrik Ekblom will be driving alongside the defending champion for BMW Team UK at Anderstorp in a BMW 320si WTCC sporting the Swedish national flag.

'It will be his home event so I'm sure we'll have a lot of fans cheering us on.'

As a newcomer to the WTCC, Ekblom will carry just 10 kilograms of ballast.

However, Priaulx, along with BMW Team Germany drivers Muller and Farfus, will carry the maximum 60kg.

The Guernseyman and the Brazilian lie joint second in the drivers' standings on 56 points, just two behind the German leader.

The Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp is at the heart of northern European motorsport. In the 1970s the 4.025km circuit hosted six Grands Prix and to date it remains the only Formula One venue in Scandinavia.

Priaulx raced there in 2003, achieving second place in the European TCC.

The previous year at Anderstorp in the same competition, Ekblom finished third when driving for the Racing Bart Mampaey Team who run Priaulx's WTCC car.

Ekblom most recently raced there just over month ago when he finished fourth in the Swedish TCC race. He currently leads the hotly contested STCC with 41 points.

'It is fantastic to be able to join the WTCC and especially in front of my home crowd. Anderstorp is not exactly the circuit I have driven most in Sweden, but I like it. It is not particularly tricky, but it is still challenging and not really comparable with many other tracks,' Ekblom said.

'I have been in this business for quite a while now, but I am still looking forward to picking up one or two tricks from Andy Priaulx, who is the king of touring car racing.

'Back in 2002 things didn't go too badly at all in the European Championship for RBM and me - I made it onto the podium in Anderstorp.

'This year I want to achieve another good result for BMW and the team, so I have to get used to the high standards of the WTCC quickly.'