Yann Ehrlacher claimed his first FIA World Touring Car Cup victory of 2021 in the first reversed grid race at Estoril in Portugal, despite a disadvantageous Balance of Performance (BoP) level.
"It was an amazing feeling to step onto the top spot of the podium with Yvan and Santi. With BoP that we have currently, we can say that we did a pretty good job with the result we achieved. We were also lucky that the other teams made mistakes this weekend. I had no luck in the first race in Germany and I'm really happy to have made that back this weekend," said Yann Ehrlacher.
The reigning champion headed a Lynk & Co Cyan Racing 1-2-3 in the first race with Yvan Muller in second place and Santiago Urrutia in third.
The second, non-reversed grid, race saw Santiago Urrutia as the best placed driver of the team in fifth position, eight seconds behind the winning Honda driver Attila Tassi.
"A podium and another top five finish, that's just what we needed in terms of points. We did not have the fastest car here and to get such good points here is a really good thing. Big thanks to the team and my team-mates. Now we move onto Aragon where I won last year, so I'm really looking forward to that," said Santiago Urrutia.
The Uruguayan driver share second place in the standings with Attila Tassi and Yvan Muller - who finished ninth in the final race.
"I am very happy with the result of the first race. We were not expecting to be in the top ten in qualifying, but just managed that which gave us good positions for the reversed grid race - a key to this result. Unfortunately I did not get a good first lap of the second race, but still managed to get some points," said Yvan Muller.
Thed Björk fought back following a technical issue in qualifying that had him starting from 12th and 11th in the two races, finishing sixth and seventh.
"I managed to climb a bit in the races, but it's difficult to overtake with such a competitive field. I got my feeling of the car back after the issues that we managed to fix ahead of the first race. It's been a weekend above our expectations in total and I'm looking forward to the next race in Spain," said Thed Björk.
The team heads to Spain for the next round, taking place at MotorLand Aragon on July 10-11, a circuit where Yvan Muller, Thed Björk and Santiago Urrutia won races last year.
Standings - Drivers
1 Jean-Karl Vernay 61 points
2 Yvan Muller 56 (-5)
2 Santiago Urrutia 56 (-5)
2 Attila Tassi 56 (-5)
5 Tiago Monteiro 52 (-9)
5 Esteban Guerrieri 52 (-9)
...
7 Yann Ehrlacher 49 (-12)
13 Thed Björk 22 (-39)
Standings - Teams
1 Münnich Motorsport ALL-INKL.de 108
2 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 105 (-3)
3 Münnich Motorsport ALL-INKL.com 94 (-14)
4 Engstler Hyundai 89 (-19)
5 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 78 (-30)
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.