The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing drivers showed strong form despite tough conditions in the TCR World Tour race weekend at La Pedrera in Argentina, securing a pole position and podium finish.
Ma Qing Hua fought hard in both races from further down the order to secure fourth place in the first race and second in the final race.
“The first race was really challenging as I started on slicks on a wet track. But it worked and I managed to climb, just a shame that the safety car periods meant that I lost a lot of valuable time. Then in the second race, I saw that the drivers pushed really hard at the beginning, so I tried to save my tires. It worked, after four-five laps I started to push and could overtake. It’s been a difficult weekend for the team, but I’m happy that we managed to get a second place finish and some good points,” said Ma Qing Hua.
Two-time world champion Yann Ehrlacher was fastest of all drivers in qualifying, securing his third pole position of 2023.
But the strong performance did not materialise as he dropped to sixth in the first race, suffering from a lack of grip due to a drying track. The second race saw him retiring on the last lap while fighting for fourth place with title rival Norbert Michelisz.
“The pole was really good, and I was making good progress in the final race, setting good lap times. It feels bad to end the weekend in the wall, especially as it means a lot of work for the team. It was a big hit, and we missed a good opportunity to score points. It’s racing, sometimes we love it and sometimes we hate it. But what I do know is that we will come back stronger in Australia, we have a good package,” said Yann Ehrlacher.
Team-mates Santiago Urrutia and Thed Björk had a mixed weekend, with both retiring from the first race due to damage. The second race saw both climbing to finish in the top seven, albeit with a post-race penalty for Santiago Urrutia dropping him to 11th.
“We had a good qualifying, but the races didn’t turn out as we hoped for. The track was so dirty, and it wasn’t easy. My retirement in the first race was a disappointment, but at least I managed to salvage some points for the team in the second race,” said Santiago Urrutia.
“It’s been an eventful weekend with a lot of ups and downs. I was completely forced off track at the start of the second race after making a really good start. As good weekend that we had in Uruguay last weekend, this was more or less the opposite. Now it’s time to reload, recharge and prepare for the last three race weekends in November,” said Thed Björk.
The race weekend in Argentina has seen Lynk & Co Cyan Racing keeping the team championship lead while Yann Ehrlacher has dropped to second place in the drivers’ standings, just four points from leading driver Norbert Michelisz.
Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and the TCR World Tour will head to Australia next and Sydney Motorsport Park on November 4-5.