The V8 Supercars Championship will again feature a full-time driver from outside Australasia this season following Volvo Polestar Racing’s confirmation of Swede Robert Dahlgren.
A 10-year veteran of Polestar’s racing activities in Europe, Dahlgren moves to Australia with a modest record in the Scandinavian and World Touring Car Championships.
Dahlgren’s appointment was met with a mixed response from the V8 Supercars fanbase on social media, with many seemingly willing to right off the 32-year-old’s chances before he even sets foot in a car.
His arrival coincides with the exit from the championship of Frenchman Alexandre Premat, who Dahlgren replaces, and German Maro Engel.
Highly rated from his time in GP2, the DTM and sportscars, Premat showed flashes of speed in his two seasons driving the Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden but struggled to put strong results on the board.
Engel, also formally of the DTM, enjoyed just one V8 Supercars season with newcomers Erebus Motorsport, finishing the year last of the full-time drivers in the points standings after a litany of issues.
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Previous imports, such as Brazilian Max Wilson who completed a seven-year stint in the class from 2002, have also failed to make a significant impact on the championship.
Any belief that the cars, or the circuits, are too difficult for drivers not raised in Australia to conquer were dramatically dispelled last year at Bathurst however when Swede Mattias Ekstrom starred in Triple Eight’s wildcard entry.
Triple Eight principal Roland Dane has been a long-time advocate of increasing international exposure for the V8 Supercars Championship by running foreign co-drivers.
The wildcard entry came in the first year that guests were no longer required for the Gold Coast 600.
With the category’s previous attempts at holding championship events in overseas markets having stalled, finding deeper ways to engage international fans appears necessary.
This week’s Pirtek Poll asks: Are full-time international drivers good for V8 Supercars?
