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Today you are going to witness the start of the new racing Sweden.
We are finally here. Volvo versus Saab. We've got Citroën and BMW. We've got Fredrik Ekblom, Richard Göransson, Thed Björk, I could just keep going with big names.
We are at Gelleråsen, Karlskoga, the parking lot is full, there is a lot of spectators and the sun is coming out.
I hadn't really thought this when I entered the series, that I was going to be first in the first ever qualifying session. Just amazing.
Linus Ohlsson is the guy who beat all the experienced drivers. One would think he was a bit nervous ahead of qualifying with all the big names, but no chance, forget that. Saab on pole in this year's and the history's first TTA qualifying session.
I quote Björn Waldegård from rallying, there are still many kilometers left with trenches, we shouldn't forget that.
They didn't expect that!
Saab got past Volvo right in the end of qualifying, how does that feel?
Sour. But damn good performance by Linus, I can just congratulate him.
Most of all I get elated over how well things have worked out. We have got three different manufacturers in the top three within seven hundredths, with a junior on pole. It is going to be very nice to see the cars racing for the first time.
We have really prove what we wanted. The spectators are here and this is going to be an exciting afternoon.
Hubbe, this is a completely new format, right?
Correct. Things are much more going to be decided between the steering wheel and seat. We've got one race per race weekend of 40 minutes. We are going to run at least 32 laps today. The start is standing. No dispensations or penalty weights. First driver over the line wins. The same points scale as F1. You a point for fastest lap, could be crucial at the end of the season.
Lets go!
It is time for the first race of the TTA - Racing Elite League. They are revving the engines, the first light is lit, the second light, the third, the fourth and we release the field!
Good start by the man on the side, Fredrik Ekblom. Really fast off the line! Linus is trying on the inside, attacking, but Ekblom is really fast in to the corner. But it is Saab in the lead. I thought that Ekblom was going to fight back there. Göransson gets on the inside as well.
All cars got through the first corner.
Indeed they did. Nice and clean racing. A big slide for someone down the field, but all 16 cars are there.
And it is Robert Dahlgren who is left standing and is being pushed off track right after the start.
The clutch broke unfortunately, right at the start. When I released the clutch, the car was just standing still. There is a new race soon, but there is just eight races, I need to win the rest.
Robert Dahlgren, that is a shame, from fourth on the grid, I was missing one of the black cars in the top and it was Dahlgren getting towed off track.
There is a black car in the top and it is Linus Ohlsson.
It is great fun to see him amongst the experienced guys, messing things up.
It could be that the cars within the team have almost the same setup, suiting some drivers better and some worse. It is all about tailoring the car for the driver and the teams haven't had the time really for that during the three test days.
He is up there now, attacking. Fredrik Ekblom is up alongside Göransson in the first corner and he gets past! Ekblom is up to second. A really clean and nice pass by Fredrik.
I remember Fredrik saying that he was going to take it easy. But it seems that he has forgotten that already.
If he calls that pass taking it easy, then I want to see when he starts going for it.
And we got a collision between Viktor Hallrup, number 78, and there is another car there. It is Tommy Rustad and we got the safety car on track, gathering the field.
We have only done 17 minutes and this could spice things up. Ekblom seems to have found the pace.
It was just damn bad luck. Tommy Rustad spun in front of me, I tried avoiding him but there was no chance. The car is too damaged to continue, too bad, the weekend is over.
The first ever restart in the history of the TTA - Racing Elite League. We are going again in front of just over 5900 spectators, the exact number is 5915, at Gelleråsen/Karlskoga.
And Linus Ohlsson gets really wide in the first corner and Ekblom tries on the inside. But Linus turns in and is able to keep the position.
This is really the second half.
There isn't much left now for Linus Ohlsson. And Jan "Flash" Nilsson is waiting at the top of the pit wall, as he has fought for this. We are about to get the first winner ever for the TTA - Racing Elite League. And his name is Linus Ohlsson!
Saab is the winner! What a junior program!
I don't know what to say, this is everything TTA is about. To give the juniors a chance to prove how good they are.
To have a guy like this to win and beat the established drivers, that shows the class of our championship and the season that we have got ahead of our selves. I think it is amazing.
It is just not possible to describe. It feels amazing, unreal. This is something I have dreamt about and then it gets real. I don't think I have understood what I have done yet.
Most of all, I don't think anyone expected Linus to win. That he managed to keep the race together is an amazing achievement. I saw my self in him on the podium, he had me and Fredrik beside him. I remember in 2003 when I won the first race and "Flash" and Ekblom were beside me and I was so damn pleased. I can just imagine how pleased Linus is right now.