Four-time World Champion Yvan Muller heads from the FIA World Touring Car Cup weekend at Ningbo International Speedpark in China with two victories and two pole positions, crowning the weekend with a 1-2 with his nephew Yann Ehrlacher to hand Lynk & Co Cyan Racing the team championship lead.
The victories has brought Yvan Muller to third position in the drivers' championship, just one point from former points leader and Honda driver Esteban Guerreri.
"This has been a fantastic race weekend for all of the boys and girls in the team. To share the podium once again with Yann is great. Everything is possible now, I was far behind in the points ahead of this weekend and I am close now with a lot of points left to fight for," said Yvan Muller.
The two victories, four podiums and two pole positions means that Lynk & Co Cyan Racing leads the team championship by 22 points over Honda team Münnich Motorsport.
"We are honoured to have the responsibility to run the Lynk & Co cars in the WTCR. To deliver one of our best weekends since starting to compete on a global level at Lynk & Co's home race is truly great," said Christian Dahl, CEO and founder of Cyan Racing.
"I am proud of everyone in the team that made this result possible. I am also proud over the sportsmanship of the team, remaining cool despite the tough fights on track. It is disappointing to see the lack of sporting manner and low driving standards from some of our competitors. This is a shame as I think that we have one of the best racing championships in the world with the WTCR.
Yann Ehrlacher turned around a really tough start of the weekend to qualify and finish second in the final race of the weekend, crossing the finishing line just four tenths behind his team-mate Yvan Muller.
"We took a 1-2 podium together with Yvan in Portugal and now in China, this is even better. Especially as this is the home race of Lynk & Co, I am proud of that. It is a really good reward to the fans after all the support we got from them this weekend," said Yann Ehrlacher.
2017 World Champion Thed Björk had a mixed weekend but claimed two solid results in the final races with fourth and fifth position, holding fourth in the drivers' championship.
"I went from ninth to fifth in the final race, that is extremely tough in this field. I had the Hyundai drivers around me and they didn't want to give me a millimetre. The results this weekend truly feels like a team victory. Yvan was on his own and did a great job. I feel strong to contribute to the team points and I'm looking forward to Japan," said Thed Björk.
Andy Priaulx had a promising but difficult weekend, being taken out of the second race by Hyundai driver and championship leader Norbert Michelisz after holding the lead from the reversed-grid pole position.
"I got a good start but the contact was disappointing. The big impact cost me the race because I had a lot of suspension damage. But I still got some points with me and ultimately it has been a very good weekend for the team, so I am happy. Onto the next round, the pace is getting better," said Andy Priaulx.
Next up in the final sprint of the 2019 FIA WTCR season is Suzuka in Japan on October 25-27th.
Standings
Points for drivers – Top 5
1 Norbert Michelisz Hyundai i30 247 points
2 Esteban Guerrieri Honda Civic 231 (-16)
3 Yvan Muller Lynk & Co 03 230 (-17)
4 Thed Björk Lynk & Co 03 209 (-38)
5 Mikel Azcona Cupra TCR 188 (-59)
...
7 Yann Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 03 177 (-70)
22 Andy Priaulx Lynk & Co 03 50 (-197)
Points for teams – Top 5
1 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 439 points
2 Münnich Motorsport 417 (-22)
3 BRC Hyundai Squadra 403 (-36)
4 BRC Hyundai Lukoil 272 (-167)
5 PWR Racing 234 (-205)
...
6 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 227 (-212)