Lynk & Co Cyan Racing fought through a chaotic race weekend at Vallelunga in Italy to defend its TCR World Tour points lead with two podium finishes.
Two-time world champion Yann Ehrlacher defied 40 kilos of compensation weight to claim a podium finish and maintain second place in the drivers’ championship.
“A podium finish with 40 kilos in the car is just amazing. A big shoutout to the team and to everyone at Lynk & Co for their support. It's been crucial today and I'm very happy to be here with a new podium finish. We will keep working hard to be even better in Hungary next weekend,” said Yann Ehrlacher.
Thed Björk qualified a strong third on the grid for the first race, a position he kept to claim his second podium finish of 2023 – jumping from tenth to fifth in the standings.
“I’m really happy to secure my second podium finish of the year, I can’t thank the team and Lynk & Co enough. The second race was a classic touring car race with plenty of action where I gave it everything I had. The Hyundais were really strong this weekend and we need to find some more pace for Hungary,” said Thed Björk.
Team-mates Santiago Urrutia and Ma Qing Hua had a tough weekend, with both being involved in incidents during the eventful second reversed grid race.
Ma Qing Hua started from the reversed grid pole but was sent into a spin following contact with one of the competitors who also made contact with Santiago Urrutia.
“It’s been a difficult weekend for me. I think it’s ridiculous with so many crashes. My car was damaged when I was running third and I had to pit for repairs. I’m disappointed, but it is what it is and now we’re going to focus on the next weekend in Hungary to claw some points back,” said Santiago Urrutia.
“The second race was very unfortunate. I got a good start from pole position, but with a 60-kilo difference to the Audis it was an impossible task to defend. There was contact and that was it. It was not the result we were after, obviously. But we can’t do anything but reload and push for the next race in Hungary,” said Ma Qing Hua.
Yann Ehrlacher is placed second overall in the drivers’ standings, 25 points from leading driver Norbert Michelisz while Thed Björk is fifth, 56 points adrift.
Lynk & Co Cyan Racing heads the team championship, 12 points ahead of BRC Hyundai and 54 points ahead of Audi Sport Comtoyou.
The next TCR World Tour race takes place at Hungaroring in Hungary on June 17-18.
Images from TCR World Tour in Italy.
Results
Qualifying
Race 1
Race 2
Standings - Drivers - Top 5
1 Norbert Michelisz 159 pts
2 Yann Ehrlacher 134 (-25)
3 Rob Huff 126 (-33)
4 Mikel Azcona 120 (-39)
5 Thed Björk 103 (-56)
...
7 Santiago Urrutia 95 (-64)
11 Ma Qing Hua 54 (-105)
Standings - Teams - Top 5
1 - Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 254 pts
2 - BRC Hyundai 245 (-9)
3 - Audi Sport Comtoyou 188 (-66)
4 - Comtoyou Racing 100 (-154)
5 – ALM Motorsport Honda 97 (-157)
2023 TCR World Tour calendar
28-30 April – Portimao – Portugal
26-28 May – Spa – Belgium
09-11 June – Vallelunga – Italy
16-18 June – Hungaroring – Hungary
18-20 August – El Pinar – Uruguay
25-27 August – San Luis – Argentina
03-05 November – Sydney Motorsport Park - Australia
10-12 November – Bathurst – Australia
17-19 November – Macau – China
Ends.
Media contact information
Johan Meissner
PR 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 seven 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.
About Geely Group Motorsport
Geely Group Motorsport is a brand neutral entity based within Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It was founded in 2018 to provide strategic and tactical expertise to serve the best motorsport sporting and commercial interests for the auto brands in the group. One of its tactical assignments include the development and management of the Lynk & Co TCR and customer racing programmes.