Yann Ehrlacher and Thed Björk claimed one win each in the FIA TCR World Tour race weekend in Uruguay, further extending the team championship lead for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.
Thed Björk crowned a strong weekend with a solid victory in the second race from sixth on the grid after a podium in Race 1.
The Swede leaves Uruguay as the best placed Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver in the drivers’ championship in third place, 29 points from leading driver Norbert Michelisz.
“The second race was crazy! A big thanks for the team work from Santi and that enabled me to fight for the win. I took everything I had from the tyres and the car and just went for it. Really good points for the championship and a great feeling ahead of the final two race weekends,” said Thed Björk.
The first race saw two-time touring car world champion Yann Ehrlacher starting from pole and controlled the race from lights to flag, despite two safety car interruptions.
The Frenchman unfortunately suffered a technical issue in the second race which saw him drop to the back of the field.
“I was very happy with a win from pole in the first race and to stand on the podium together with Thed. I got a good start and then it was not easy with all the safety car interruptions. But the car was strong. Unfortunately I had a small technical issue in the second race which made it impossible to score points. It seems luck is struggling to find me and it was a shame to end the weekend like this,” said Yann Ehrlacher.
Santiago Urrutia was right in the thick of the action in both races, finishing seventh in the first race and on the podium in the second race. The Uruguayan driver was however later disqualified from Race 2 due to a miscommunication regarding the application of an engine function
“It’s a special feeling to finish the weekend on the podium together with Thed. Big thanks to the team, everyone back home and to all fans here this weekend, the atmosphere was amazing. The disqualification was unfortunate, but due to a genuine miscommunication and that’s racing sometimes. We will come back strong in the next race at Zhuzhou,” said Santiago Urrutia.
Ma Qing Hua had a tough weekend, having fought his way from 15th on the grid to the top five in the first race before a damaged suspension saw him dropping back outside of the points.
The Chinese driver then lined up in pole position for the second race, only for a technical issue forcing him to start last. Ma Qing Hua then once again fought his way up to finish eighth from the back of the grid.
“I was quite disappointed, the issue happened at the absolute worst moment. I tried my best to fight back and got up into the points from the back of the grid, managing to score some points for the team. Racing and life is like this sometimes. We will now reload for my home race in China which I’m really looking forward to,” said Ma Qing Hua.
Lynk & Co Cyan Racing keeps its team championship lead, 33 points ahead of BRC Hyundai, as the championship heads into a late summer break - resuming at Zhuzhou in China on October 18-20.