| Volvo did something no manufacturer had
ever attempted before by entering their Volvo 850 Estate
Station wagon. With drivers Rickard Rydell and Jan
Lammers the 850 did show the amazing potential to be a
true racing car. It was a great showing of how the Estate
was to be in comparison with racing cars. Although the
Estate never won a race, they did manage to wow everyone
and put a wild look on their opponent's faces. Now there
was a bit of logic as to why the Estate was chosen over
the 850 Sedan. The Estate was heavier yet more
aerodynamic than the sedan and so with the fact that
Volvo wanted to make an impact with the newly re-designed
Estate they saw the perfect opportunity to show it off.
The 850 Estate was also being raced in Australia and
Sweden in the ASTCC (Australian Touring Car
Championship), and the STCC (Swedish Touring Car
Championship). |
 The Volvo 850 Estate wagons
|
| |
|
 The
1996 Volvo 850 BTCC
|
1995 saw the withdrawal of the Estate and
the introduction of the 850 Sedan. Retaining Rickard
Rydell and introducing Tim Harvey as the drivers. The 850
Sedan showed the true potential of Volvo and partner TWR
(Tom Walkinshaw Racing) with Rydell putting the car in
pole position 13 times, a new BTCC record, and finishing
3rd in the drivers' championship. In 1996 Volvo
introduced a new driver Kelvin Burt to replace Tim
Harvey. Rydell once again finished 3rd in the drivers
championship, this was only the beginning to the Volvo
championship title. |
| |
|
| In 1997 the BTCC saw Audi introduce their new Quattro
which would sweep the 97 season. But Volvo was only
preparing itself for the years to come. With the 850
being replaced by the new, sleeker, and bolder Volvo S40.
Development was already showing the potential of that of
the 850 but much more research and development was needed
to get the car in championship shape. In 1998, one of the
toughest BTCC seasons ever, the S40 received a cosmetic
makeover and a new team driver. Gianni Morbidelli from
Italy was chosen to drive alongside Rickard Rydell. No
fewer than five manufacturers won races in the first half
of the season but emerging victorious at the end was
Rickard Rydell and the Volvo S40. A great championship
well deserved to TWR and Rydell. Although Rydell only
captured the driver's championship, it was well worth it
after five years of hard work. The manufacturer's
championship was won by the Nissan Primera Racing team
thanks to Anthony Reid and David Leslie. |
 |
 Kelvin
Burt's 1997 Volvo Racing car
1999 was the last year Volvo would participate in the
BTCC and the ASTCC. Being bought out by Ford, Volvo cars
was probably influenced by the powers that be to withdraw
from the BTCC. Rickard Rydell along with Vincent
Radermecker went out in style with Rydell winning the
last two races of the season and bowing out with a third
place overall finish. Meanwhile in Australia, Jim
Richards gave Volvo the championship title with 10 race
wins (Setting a record) in the ASTCC.
|
The 1996 Volvo 850 ASTCC
driven by Peter Brock 
1998 Volvo S40 Racing car
|
 |
 |
| Jim Richards' 1999 Volvo S40 |
Rydell's 1999 S40 |
| |
|
| Sweden is the only place where the S40 is still being
raced professionally. With driver's Jan "Flash"
Nilsson and Mattias Ekstrom, the 2000 S40 team is sure to
be on top. (if anyone knows Swedish please let me know to
help me translate the results from the STCC site!) Good
luck S40 Racing team in 2000! |
 |
| |
Radermecker is moving in this picture! |
| |
|
 Flash!
|
Updated
September 14, 2000 The Swedish
Touring Car Championship comes to an end for 2000. In the
end the three teams fighting it out for the title were
Audi, Volvo, and Nissan. The competition was so hot that
each team added an extra car to the grid, which of course
required an extra driver! Of course an old freind was
reunited with the S40. Kelvin Burt of England was called
in to drive the extra S40 added to the grid. In the end
Nissan driver Tommy Rustad took the win. I'm still trying
to figure out if Volvo came in second or third (remember
the STCC site is in Swedish) as soon as I figure it out
i'll post it up!!
Good going S40 Racing Team!!!!
|
 |
 |
| Mattias Ekstrom's Volvo S40 (takin on
Tommy Rustad) |
Kelvin Burt... Back On Track! |
| |
|
| Updated November 6,
2000 |
|
| I recently came across
some old photos i'd downloaded a while back and thought I
lost when I got a new computer. These are pictures that
confirm there was a Volvo S40 raced in Japan. The JTCC
(Japanese Touring Car Championship), i've tried locating
the JTCC website but I believe 1998 was the last year the
JTCC took place and therefore could not locate it online.
If you know anything about this car please LET ME KNOW!!  .
No matter what part of the world it's in, it's always
lookin good!
I also stumbled across another JTCC (Junior Touring
Car Cup) in Sweden. I'm assuming its younger drivers
(probably a bit like the SCCA here in the U.S. ) but
strictly for Volvo S40's. The site is in Swedish so I
can't make too much of it out. If anyone knows more LET
ME KNOW PLEASE!!
|
This information was sent to me via
email, thanks Michael!! You mentioned about wanting to
know more of Volvos' involvement in the JTCC? Well, for
the record, Volvo DID NOT race in Japan. The picture of
S40 you have at
http://www.classiccats.cc/volvoracing.html shows a S40
that raced in the South East Touring Car Zone Challenge
(SEATCZC). AFAIK, the car was bought by Ericsson and
raced by a Hong Kong driver. The car was underutilized by
the driver in the series so the car wasn't very
successful. They should have dumped the driver.
1998 Volvo S40 in Hong Kong??
|
| This was also sent in by Michael,
thanks again dude! |
Updated January 23,
2001 |
Another JTCC (Junior Touring Car Cup) series is a
one makes series run by Volvo that races only in Sweden.
The S40 cars are almost stock. The grids average 10 cars
I believe. Rickard Rydell has his own team of 2 cars
racing in it. In '98 and '99, some team brought back out
an 850 to race, but the car was very unreliable. The team
was probably very low in budget.
|
NEWS FLASH! It has been confirmed that Rickard Rydell
has signed a three year deal with Volvo. The plans seem
to be to put an S60 Racing car on the circuit before the
end of the year (for BTCC). It's still not clear wether
Volvo will be participating in the BTCC for 2002 or the
European Championship. GO RYDELL AND GO VOLVO!!!!! |
| |
|
| email
Carlos |
|
| |
|
| |
All picture's on this
page are property of their respective owner's. |