Lynk & Co Cyan Racing heads to the 2021 FIA World Touring Car Cup season finale at Sochi in Russia with a clear goal of defending its double title of last year.
But the team will face tough competition from Audi, Cupra, Hyundai and Honda teams at Sochi, a Formula 1 circuit which is a clean sheet of paper for everyone in the championship.
Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher heads the standings by 36 points over Audi driver Frédéric Vervisch and 37 points over Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri with 60 points left to fight for.
"I feel less pressure ahead of the season finale this year as I claimed my first world title in 2020. But I am just as motivated to fight for the 2021 title," said Yann Ehrlacher.
"I've raced at Sochi once before but it was a long time ago and in a completely different car. But I will approach this weekend as any other and go flat out. Vervisch and Guerrieri are my closest title rivals and I think they both will be very strong, we will have to fight hard to keep ahead of them."
Santiago Urrutia is placed fourth in the standings ahead of the season finale in what is only his second ever WTCR season.
"It's been a good season so far and I'm ready for Sochi. I've raced at the circuit before, but it was seven years ago. My main focus is on the team championship title and to finish in the top three of the drivers' standings in my second WTCR season. I can't wait to get going and I think we're in for an epic season finale," said Santiago Urrutia.
Yvan Muller, who completes his 15th full world touring car season this year, is placed fifth in the standings, trailing team-mate Yann Ehrlacher by 50 points.
"The main target is to help Lynk & Co Cyan Racing to be the teams' champions and for Yann to be drivers' champion. If I can finish on the podium in the championship, it would be my 14th top three finish, and that would be great - but it's not the main goal," said Yvan Muller.
2017 world champion Thed Björk, currently placed eighth, is looking to finish the season on a high and is expecting two intense last races due to the forecasted rain.
"I've never raced at Sochi before, but I've done more simulator practice than usual and I feel ready. It looks like we have an eventful last race weekend ahead of us, especially as it most likely will rain. It feels awesome that we are fighting for what could be Cyan Racing's fifth straight world title and Lynk & Co's third. We will as always fight all the way until the chequered flag of the very last race," said Thed Björk.
The season finale weekend starts on Saturday with free practice and qualifying, followed by the final two races of 2021 on Sunday.
The race weekend is broadcast live on Eurosport, keep in mind that the time zone in Sochi is CET +2H: eurosportplayer.com
WTCR Race of Russia
Schedule
Times in MSK (CET +2H)
Saturday - November 27th
09:30 - FP1 - 45 min
12:30 - FP2 - 30 min
15:00 - Qualifying - 45 min
Sunday - November 28th
12:15 - Race 1 - 9 laps
14:15 - Race 2 - 11 laps
Standings - Drivers
1 Yann Ehrlacher 201 points
2 Frédéric Vervisch 165 (-36)
3 Esteban Guerrieri 164 (-37)
4 Santiago Urrutia 157 (-44)
5 Yvan Muller 151 (-50)
...
8 Thed Björk 130 (-71)
Standings - Teams
1 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 352 points
2 Comtoyou Audi 288 (-64)
3 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 287 (-65)
4 Münnich Motorsport ALL-INKL.com 278 (-74)
5 BRC Hyundai 246 (-106)
2021 FIA World Touring Car Cup calendar
03-05 June – Nürburgring Nordschleife – Germany
26-27 June – Estoril – Portugal
10-11 July – Motorland Aragon – Spain
21-22 August – Hungaroring – Hungary
08-10 October - Most - Czech Republic
16-17 October - Pau - France
05-07 November - Adria - Italy
27-28 November - Sochi - Russia
Media 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 four touring car World Titles, most recently the 2020 WTCR drivers' and teams' titles 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, including the concept models Volvo C30 and S60 Polestar Concept Prototype. The company launched the Volvo P1800 Cyan in 2020, Cyan Racing’s interpretation of the iconic Volvo sports car from the sixties.
About Lynk & Co
Lynk & Co was created to provide mobility solutions for the connected generation. We do make really, really good cars (the kind that have all the features you want without you having to ask for them), but we also offer a new way of using those cars. Our membership-based approach makes it simple to get on the go. Members can access a car on a flexible, month-to-month basis and share with friends, family, and the Lynk & Co community.