Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Keeps in Title Fights After Intense First Australian Weekend

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing fought through three tough races in the first of two back-to-back KUMHO TCR World Tour race weekends in Australia to salvage vital points for the championship fight.

The four Lynk & Co 03 TCR drivers showed strong pace in practice at Sydney Motorsport Park, while a sudden rain shower in qualifying meant the quartet had to fight back in the races.

Yann Ehrlacher battled through three tough races with plenty of incidents and changeable weather conditions to three top-ten finishes, including an impressive charge from 13^th to sixth place in the first race.

The Frenchman keeps in the title fight and is currently placed third, 21 points from the lead.

“It has been a very tough race weekend in Australia. We scored in all races despite crashes, pit stops and difficult weather. Unfortunately, the driving standards leave a lot to wish for. I’m looking forward to the next race at Bathurst, where I will carry less weight, and we will fight hard but fair,” said Yann Ehrlacher.

Ma Qing Hua claimed a solid second-place finish in the first race and climbed to seventh overall.

“This has been a mixed-race weekend for us. The podium in the first race was the highlight for me, but there was a lot of contact in the races, and we didn’t get the result I think we had the potential for. We will reload for Bathurst, a race I’m looking forward to,” said Ma Qing Hua.

Team-mates Thed Björk and Santiago Urrutia showed a strong pace but found themselves in tough fights in all three races.

“We started the weekend strongly, but the results in qualifying and the races are not something we are pleased with. My focus is heading to the next race at Bathurst, one of the best circuits in the world,” said Thed Björk.

“While I had a perfect comeback in Race 2 from 22^nd to tenth place, for me, this is a weekend to forget. We need to learn from this, recharge and come back stronger next weekend,” said Santiago Urrutia.

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing has maintained its team championship lead after the Sydney Motorsport Park weekend, heading main rivals Hyundai by 101 points ahead of the penultimate race weekend.

“This has been the toughest race weekend of the season so far. A difficult qualifying session meant we had to fight back in all three races. We were struggling for pace, and we need to work hard to bounce back from this, which I’m confident we will,” said Fredrik Wahlén, Team Manager of Cyan Racing.

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and the TCR World Tour will continue racing in Australia, heading for legendary Bathurst next weekend on November 11-12.

TCR World Tour – Race Of Australia

Sydney Motorsport Park

Results
Qualifying
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3

Standings – Drivers – Top 5

1 Norbert Michelisz 327 pts
2 Rob Huff 326 (-1)
3 Yann Ehrlacher 306 (-21)
4 Mikel Azcona 289 (-38)
5 Frédéric Vervisch 257 (-70)
…
7 Ma Qing Hua 218 (-109)
8 Thed Björk 217 (-110)
9 Santiago Urrutia 194 (-133)

Standings – Teams – Top 5

1 – Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 727 pts
2 – BRC Hyundai 626 (-101)
3 – Audi Sport Comtoyou 610 (-117)
4 – ALM Motorsport Honda 182 (-545)
5 – Comtoyou Racing 148 (-579)

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