2017 touring car World Champion Thed Björk is going to continue racing for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing in the 2020 FIA World Touring Car Cup season, while multiple touring car World Champion Andy Priaulx has decided to step down from his driver position.
"Thed and Andy are undoubtably two of the best touring car drivers in the world," said Christian Dahl, CEO and founder of Cyan Racing.
"While we are delighted to continue our successful cooperation with Thed, we are of course sad to see Andy go. We do however fully respect his decision and we will keep in touch with him for the future. We have begun our work to find a new driver for the coming season."
Thed Björk claimed his and Cyan Racing's first World Title in 2017 and the Swede will start his ninth season with the team this year after finishing fourth in the 2019 WTCR.
"We as a team had a great season in 2019 while I hoped for more personally. To win the team title is still the main goal for the 2020 season and my personal goal is obviously to move forward in the drivers' championship, to again fight for the title," said Thed Björk.
"The few test days we were able to perform before the lock down were really promising and fills me with confidence ahead of this season.
"I am sorry to see Andy go, we had a great cooperation last year, and I wish him the best for the future."
Andy Priaulx joined the team ahead of the 2019 season after being away from the championship for nine years. The Brit made strong progress throughout the season to win the main race at the legendary Macau street circuit behind the wheel of his Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
"It was a tough call, a really heart wrenching decision. But sometimes less is more and I had to make a decision to try and be successful in other ways outside of the car, helping my son Sebastian with his commitments in the US," said Andy Priaulx.
"It's not about retirement, but I didn't want to be in a position where I was not being able to fully commit what Cyan Racing is doing.
"The plan is to keep racing and Sebastian needs a lot of time for me to give his career the opportunity that I had and that my father gave me at the beginning of my career. But the situation with the corona pandemic and Sebastian's US programme just made the situation impossible.
"I am really proud to have secured the first ever Chinese World Title in motorsport with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and I wish the team all the best. I think they have a really good shot at great results this year again and I hope that we will be back together somehow in the future."
Andy Priaulx will continue to take part in the ongoing Pre-season Esports WTCR Championship as a final part of the cooperation with the team.
The replacement for the Brit will be announced in due course. Watch the YouTube series Challenge The World to follow the preparations for the 2020 WTCR season behind the scenes.
Thed Björk and his yet to be confirmed team-mate will race under the Cyan Performance Lynk & Co banner, with team-mates Yvan Muller and Yann Ehrlacher at Cyan Racing Lynk & Co.
The 2020 FIA WTCR season will start at the Salzburgring in Austria on September 12-13, more information is available here.
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 the last three Touring Car World titles, most recently the 2019 WTCR team title with Lynk & Co – 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.