Flash report: Yvan Muller charges into the top five at Sepang
Rain master Yvan Muller made the most of the difficult conditions in the first FIA World Touring Car Cup race of the season finale at Sepang International Raceway to finish sixth.
The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver started from 13th position on the grid and quickly started to make progress up through the field.
The Frenchman crossed the line in sixth but will receive points for fifth position as the driver ahead of him was a non-scoring wild card.
"The car worked well in the mixed conditions, but we need to score more points to keep the title hopes alive," said Yvan Muller.
The result means that the four-time touring car World Champion is 35 points from championship leader and race-winner Norbert Michelisz. There are 50 points left to fight for in the final two races later today.
Lynk & Co Cyan Racing remains in the lead of the team championship, 31 points ahead of Hyundai and 79 points ahead of Honda with 90 points left.
Team-mate Andy Priaulx was another man on the move, making his way past no less than 16 cars to finish eleventh.
"I had a really good car and was able to make strong progress, let's hope we can go even further up in the final two races," said Andy Priaulx.
Yann Ehrlacher also made strong progress to finish 14th from 24th on the grid. Thed Björk meanwhile pitted during the race to change tyres and crossed the line in 27th position.
The penultimate race of the 2019 WTCR season is next up, starting at 18:15 local time/11:15.
Results Race 1
Schedule
Times in CET (local time is +7h)
Sunday December 15th
08:15-08:45 – Race 1 (9 laps)
11:15-11:45 – Race 2 (9 laps)
13:10-13:45 – Race 3 (12 laps)
Standings
Points for drivers – Top 5
1 Norbert Michelisz Hyundai i30 351 points
2 Esteban Guerrieri Honda Civic 324 (-24)
3 Yvan Muller Lynk & Co 03 316 (-35)
4 Thed Björk Lynk & Co 03 288 (-63)
5 Gabriele Tarquini Hyundai i30 222 (-129)
...
6 Yann Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 03 212 (-139)
18 Andy Priaulx Lynk & Co 03 118 (-233)
Points for teams – Top 5
1 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 604 points
2 BRC Hyundai Squadra 573 (-31)
3 Münnich Motorsport 525 (-79)
4 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 330 (-274)
5 BRC Hyundai Lukoil 310 (-294)
Contact information
Johan Meissner
Press Manager
Cyan Racing
+46(0)70 241 3234
johan.meissner@cyanracing.com
About Cyan Racing
Cyan Racing was founded in 1996 and was formerly named Polestar until Volvo Cars acquired the performance section and trademark in 2015. Cyan Racing is privately owned and operated. The team has claimed multiple titles, most recently the 2018 FIA World Touring Car Cup team title and the double 2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship titles for driver and manufacturer – and participated in the development of the Polestar performance models of the Volvo S60 and V60 in the years 2013 to 2015.
About Lynk & Co
Lynk & Co is the new global urban mobility brand addressing the needs and preferences of the connected generation and challenging auto industry conventions. Its products are designed and engineered in Sweden and will be sold globally.