Lynk & Co Cyan Racing drivers Yvan Muller and Ma Qing Hua broke into the top five of qualifying for the FIA World Touring Car Cup season opener on the fast and narrow streets of Pau-Ville in France.
Quadruple world champion Yvan Muller secured third place on the grid for the first race.
"Third here in Pau-Ville is a good way to start the season. Of course, pole position is better. But on a city circuit where there is a lot of commitment that you need to bring, I can be pleased with this position," said Yvan Muller.
Ma Qing Hua secured a strong first qualifying performance for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, claiming fifth on the grid for the first race.
"It's not a bad result for my first weekend with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing. I had a huge moment in Q3 unfortunately, it was a very long drift and I lost a lot of time. But apart from that, I am happy with the result and we will go flat out tomorrow," said Ma Qing Hua.
Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher was left disappointed after qualifying sixth, missing the final Q3 session by the slimmest of margins: 0.003 seconds
"It was a really intense qualifying session, I had a few contacts with the wall, I pushed properly. I'm really proud of the work I have done during qualifying, but it didn't go my way. So I am for sure a bit disappointed, but I have nothing to regret," said Yann Ehrlacher.
Santiago Urrutia was close to his Lynk & Co colleague, finishing seventh, a further nine thousands of a second adrift.
"It was a decent result for the first qualifying of the season. We are going to fight tomorrow and see if we can bring home some points. I'm really looking forward to the races," said Santiago Urrutia.
Thed Björk meanwhile had a disastrous qualifying session, crashing heavily into the barriers after setting the fastest first sector of all during the second qualifying session.
The Swede was unharmed thanks to the high safety level of the Lynk & Co 03 TCR, while the team is racing against time to repair his car ahead of the two races on Sunday.
"I was not expecting the crash, I had such a nice flow on the track and then just a tiny, tiny mistake that sent me into the wall. We always try to push the limit and sometime when you push a bit too far, you end up like this. I am really disappointed because I wanted so much to start the season well. I hope that we can bounce back tomorrow," said Thed Björk.
The first race of the season opener weekend at Pau-Ville starts at 13:10 CEST tomorrow.
The races are broadcast live on: eurosportplayer.com
WTCR Race of France
Results
Qualifying 1
Qualifying 2
Qualifying 3
Schedule
Times in CEST
Sunday - May 8th
13:10 - Race 1 - 30 min + 1 lap
17:10 - Race 2 - 25 min + 1 lap
2022 FIA World Touring Car Cup calendar
May 7/8 – France – Circuit de Pau-Ville
May 26/28 – Germany – Nürburgring Nordschleife
June 11/12 – Hungary – Hungaroring
June 25/26 – Spain – MotorLand Aragón
July 2/3 – Portugal – Circuito do Vila Real
July 23/24 – Italy – Vallelunga
August 6/7 – France – Anneau du Rhin
October 8/9 – South Korea – Inje Speedium
November 5/6 – China – Ningbo International Speedpark
November 18/20 – Macau – Macau
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 five touring car World Titles, most recently the 2021 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.