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Lestrup Racing Team has begun its testing programme ahead of its return to STCC in 2027. During a test day at Mantorp Park, two potential drivers got behind the wheel of the team’s BMW M4 GT4 and completed the first test kilometres ahead of next season. LRT thereby became the first team to officially begin testing for the new era of STCC. His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden also had the opportunity to drive the team’s BMW M4.

The day after Lestrup Racing Team showcased its BMW M4 GT4 together with STCC during the Grande Finale at Mantorp Park, the team was back at the Swedish circuit. This time, the focus was firmly on testing and preparations for 2027.

Two drivers currently under consideration for the team’s future line-up had the opportunity to drive the car during the day. Together with the team, they completed a significant number of laps and began preparations for next season.

– It feels really good to get the work for 2027 underway. We completed a lot of valuable laps during the day and had the opportunity to work with two drivers who are under consideration for our programme. We have high ambitions for our return to STCC and want to be as well prepared as possible when the season gets underway. This was a very good first step, says Team Principal Fredrik Lestrup.

Earlier in September, Lestrup Racing Team became the first team to officially confirm its commitment to STCC’s new GT4 concept. The team will compete with the BMW M4 GT4 when the championship returns in 2027.

King Carl XVI Gustaf drives the BMW M4 GT4
The test day at Mantorp Park also featured a very special moment when His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden got behind the wheel of Lestrup Racing Team’s BMW M4 GT4. The King, whose passion for motoring and motorsport is well known, had the opportunity to experience first-hand the type of car that will compete in STCC next year.

For Lestrup Racing Team, The King’s test drive marked a special moment at the beginning of the team’s new STCC programme.

– It was of course very special to see His Majesty The King behind the wheel of our BMW. His passion for motoring is well known, so it was particularly exciting to give him the opportunity to experience the car we will race in STCC next year. The fact that he enjoyed the car and is looking forward to the return of STCC means a lot to us, says Fredrik Lestrup.

The test at Mantorp Park marks the start of Lestrup Racing Team’s on-track preparations for STCC 2027. Work on the team’s driver line-up is continuing in parallel, with further news about the programme to be announced in the coming months.

Photo: Sebastian Jansson

Lestrup Racing Team will return to STCC when the championship makes its comeback in 2027. The former championship-winning team becomes the first team to confirm its commitment to the new GT4 concept and will compete with the BMW M4 GT4.

Earlier this week, STCC announced its plans for the championship’s return in 2027. Following a two-year break, the championship will enter a new era as it switches from touring cars to GT cars for the first time, based on the internationally established GT4 regulations.

For Lestrup Racing Team, the announcement also marks a return to a championship in which the team has a long and successful history. LRT competed in STCC for five seasons between 2017 and 2022, achieving its greatest success in 2020 when the team won both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships with former World Champion Rob Huff.

– We are incredibly happy to see STCC coming back and are very grateful for all the work the new, strong ownership group has put in to make this possible. There is a clear long-term focus and they have chosen a stable and attractive set of regulations. For us, there was never any doubt that we wanted to be part of it from the beginning, says Team Manager Fredrik Lestrup.

The team has operated GT4 cars since 2018 and competed in GT4 Scandinavia in 2019 with two BMW M4 GT4s. The season resulted in second place in the Drivers’ Championship and victory in the Teams’ Championship.

Since then, LRT has continued to run GT4 cars in both Scandinavia and Europe. Most recently, in June this year, the team competed with its BMW M4 GT4 in the GT4 European Series at Spa-Francorchamps, with Daniel Varverud and Stefan Nilsson behind the wheel.

Fredrik Lestrup also has a successful background in GT racing himself, including winning the Swedish GT Championship in 2011 and 2012.

– GT4 is a concept we know very well and one that has developed enormously in recent years. Internationally, we see grids of more than 50 cars and incredibly close and exciting racing. The new STCC will be a little different from what Swedish fans have been used to in the past. At the same time, I believe it can bring a lot to the championship and create a really strong product, continues Fredrik Lestrup.

Lestrup Racing Team will compete in STCC in 2027 with at least two BMW M4 GT4 EVO.

– Our ambition is clear: we are returning to STCC to win the championship. We already have several exciting discussions regarding our driver line-ups and expect to be able to announce more shortly.

– We have experience from both STCC and international GT4 racing, and we know what it takes to run a competitive programme. We are highly motivated to build on that experience and return to a championship that means a lot to both us and Swedish motorsport. Our goal is to be as well prepared as possible when the 2027 season gets underway, concludes Fredrik Lestrup.

Fans will get their first opportunity to see the team’s new STCC programme up close on September 18–19, when LRT will showcase one of its BMW M4 GT4 cars at the Grande Finale at Mantorp Park.

About Lestrup Racing Team
Lestrup Racing Team was founded in 2013 by racing driver Fredrik Lestrup, who has competed successfully in Sweden, Europe and Australia. The team has competed in both Swedish and international racing, with programmes including STCC, GT4 and endurance racing. LRT won STCC in 2020 and has also competed internationally in events including the Dubai 24H. Lestrup Racing Team is also behind the NXT Gen Cup, the world’s first all-electric junior touring car series, for which the team developed and built the LRT NXT1 race car.

About the BMW M4 GT4 EVO
The BMW M4 GT4 EVO is BMW M Motorsport’s latest race car for the international GT4 category. Introduced in 2025, the car is powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged engine producing up to 518 hp. The model competes in GT4 championships around the world.

More information: https://www.bmw-m.com/en/fastlane/motorsport/race-cars/bmw-m4-gt4-evo.html

About STCC
STCC was founded in 1996 and is one of Europe’s leading racing championships. STCC features modified GT cars competing in an action-packed racing format at some of Sweden’s best race circuits. From 2027, the internationally successful GT4 regulations will be introduced in a historic switch from touring car racing.

More information: https://www.stcc.se/

Lestrup Racing Team will enter a cooperation with Comtoyou Racing for the last two FIA World Touring Car Cup races as the Belgian team expands from four to six Audis.

The Swedish outfit, which secured the 2022 STCC TCR Scandinavia team vice-champion title, will provide Comtoyou Racing with engineers and mechanics for the running of the two additional Audi RS 3 LMS race cars with drivers Franco Girolami and Viktor Davidovski.

“We are delighted to join Comtoyou Racing on the international touring car scene for the FIA WTCR season ending,” said Fredrik Lestrup, co-founder of Lestrup Racing Team.

“Comtoyou Racing has performed a mighty impressive season so far this year in the WTCR and TCR Europe. We are confident that we can bring our part in their fight for the WTCR honours, as well as gaining valuable international touring car experience.”

Audi Sport drivers Gilles Magnus and Nathanaël Berthon are placed fourth and fifth respectively in the drivers’ championship with two race weekends and a total of four race heats remaining.

“Expanding to six cars will of course mean more work so the partnership with Lestrup Racing is really important,” said Comtoyou Team Manager François Verbist.

“But not only are some of their guys joining our team, as part of a common discussion with Audi Sport, we are giving other Audi customers the opportunity to gain experience in a world series and we are very happy to have the support of Lestrup, an Audi customer team in the STCC TCR Scandinavia.”

The penultimate WTCR round takes place at Bahrain International Circuit on November 10-12 while the season finale will be held at the Jeddah International Circuit in Saudi Arabia on November 25-27.

Lestrup Racing Team driver Oliver Söderström claimed a victory as team-mate Andreas Bäckman secured the bronze medal overall in the 2022 STCC TCR Scandinavia finale at Mantorp Park.

The results saw the team claiming the runner-up spot in the teams’ championship.

“We are always racing with the ambition to win. We didn’t win the titles this year, but we won races and podiums. Andreas, Oliver and team have fought hard from the first to last race this year, I am thoroughly proud of everyone of them,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

Andreas Bäckman had a tough start to the weekend, but managed to bounce back in the final race with a podium finish to secure third place overall.

“My goal was to challenge for the title ahead of the finale. But we still got a strong end to the year with a podium finish and third overall. A huge thanks to the team for a really good year and now we’re looking forward to the future with excitement,” said Andreas Bäckman.

Oliver Söderström started the weekend strongly by winning the first race, finishing second in the following race while he was forced to retire from the last to finish fifth overall.

“The win was incredibly nice, especially from third on the grid. The retirement in the last race was obviously a disappointment, but that’s racing sometimes. This has been a frustrating, hectic and thrilling end to the season,” said Oliver Söderström.

Mantorp Park results
Final points standings

Lestrup Racing Team had a mixed but promising STCC TCR Scandinavia season finale qualifying at Mantorp Park, with Oliver Söderström securing third for the first two races while Andreas Bäckman was further down the order.

“This result feels awesome after the struggles we’ve had. It hasn’t come easy, we’ve had to start from scratch with the setup. I’m not happy about the tenths we lacked to the absolute top, but we will keep fighting to close that gap for the races tomorrow,” said Oliver Söderström.

Following a recent judgement of the Swedish Motorsport Federation, Andreas Bäckman is the only driver left with a theoretical chance for the title – trailing the points lead by 51 points with 60 points left from the three races of tomorrow.

The Swede faces a tough race day, having qualified seventh and eighth.

“It was a really tough qualifying for me, we had balance issues with the car and I’m of course disappointed. We will reload for tomorrow, there are still three races left and I will push as hard as I can to climb the order,” said Andreas Bäckman.

The team championship fight is closer, with Lestrup Racing Team currently placed second overall, trailing the lead by 39 points with 111 points left to fight for.

”Obviously this isn’t the result we hoped for today. But we will never give up. Oliver is in a prime spot to get into the top fight of the races and we will leave no stone unturned to find further improvement for Andreas. It will be tough tomorrow, but that’s why we are here,” said Fredrik Lestrup.

All three races on Saturday are broadcast LIVE on: plus.stcc.se

Weekend schedule.
Points standings.
Results.

Lestrup Racing Team heads to the 2022 STCC TCR Scandinavia title decider at Mantorp Park this weekend in contention for the drivers’, teams’ and juniors’ titles. And the team is eyeing an offensive strategy.

“We are going flat out to try and win all three races. Our overall goal remain on bringing the STCC titles back to Lestrup Racing Team, but we are not going to divert from our strategy of having both of our drivers going for raw speed and the best possible positions in the final races of the season. The fight is too close and hard for us to utilise any other strategy than that,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-founder.

Both drivers are in contention for the drivers’ title, with Andreas Bäckman in second place overall – 24 points from the points lead – while Oliver Söderström is further behind in fifth, 55 points adrift with 65 points still available.

Andreas Bäckman heads to Mantorp Park strengthened by an impressive penultimate round at Anderstorp where he scored a double win.

“It’s going to be a tough finale and this is what we are all here for. The goal is to score as many points as possible in qualifying and the races. Mantorp is the circuit that I look forward to the most this season and I had strong speed there last year, breaking the qualifying lap record. I think the new Audi should suit Mantorp really well,” said Andreas Bäckman.

Oliver Söderström had a tough weekend at Anderstorp despite showing strong speed and is aiming to end the season on a high.

“I have nothing to lose and I’ll go flat out for wins. I’m handling the season finale as any other race weekend. My title hopes are purely mathematical, it’s all about maximising our possibilities according to the conditions and score as strongly as possible,” said Oliver Söderström.

Lestrup Racing Team trails the team championship lead by just 14 points while reigning junior champion Oliver Söderström is just five points from the junior championship lead.

The last STCC TCR Scandinavia weekend of 2022 kicks off on Friday with testing and qualifying, with the final three races of the season on Saturday. The races are broadcast LIVE on: plus.stcc.se

Schedule – Mantorp Park
Friday 30/9
09:40 – STCC – Test
11:55 – STCC – Test 1
13:30 – STCC – Test 2
16:15 – STCC – Q1
16:40 – STCC – Q2

Saturday 1/10
10:38 – STCC – Race 1
13:10 – STCC – Race 2
15:43 – STCC – Race 3

Andreas Bäckman has moved closer to the STCC TCR Scandinavia points lead after scoring two consecutive victories in the penultimate round at Anderstorp in Sweden.

The Lestrup Racing Team driver fought his way past Hugo Nerman in the first race to victory and headed the field from lights to flag in the second race, currently trailing the points lead by 24 points with 65 points left to fight for.

“It feels amazing to score a double victory. I had to fight hard in both races and the team gave me a great car, a huge thanks to everyone who made this possible. We’ve got three exciting races left in the Mantorp finale where I’m going to go flat out,” said Andreas Bäckman.

The two victories keeps Lestrup Racing Team right in the thick of the team title fight as well, just 14 points from the lead ahead of the Mantorp Park season finale in three weeks’ time.

“This really has been a weekend of mixed emotions. We are of course gutted for Oliver and we need to analyze the reasons behind it all. And at the same time, we are over the moon for Andreas who drove an awesome weekend under difficult circumstances. While we wanted more from this weekend, we have a strong position ahead of the season finale which no doubt will be one for the history books,” said Fredrik Lestrup, team co-owner.

Oliver Söderström left Anderstorp disappointed with a fourth and sixth place finish, but lost a second place finish in the final race due to a failed ride height check.

“It’s been a nightmare weekend and I’m gutted that I’m more or less out of the title fight. We had the speed this weekend for the top three, but things just did not go our way. I’m heading to the season finale with the points completely out of my attention and will just go for outright results on track,” said Oliver Söderström.

The STCC TCR Scandinavia season finale takes place at Mantorp Park on September 30th – October 1st.

Anderstorp – Results
STCC – Standings