Historic Chinese World Cup victory by Lynk & Co Cyan Racing

[Kai Liu]

LYNK & CO-POWERED BJÖRK FLIES THE FLAG FOR CHINA WITH HISTORIC WTCR VICTORY IN MOROCCO
April 7th, 2019|WTCR Race of Morocco 2019
Thed Björk saved his best to last with an historic Race 3 victory at WTCR AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco, which opened the 2019 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup presented by OSCARO in action-packed fashion on the streets of Marrakech.

Driving a Lynk & Co 03 TCR developed by Chinese firm Geely Group Motorsport, Björk inherited first place from team-mate Yvan Muller and resisted intense pressure from DHL pole-sitter Frédéric Vervisch to follow Esteban Guerrieri and Gabriele Tarquini as a winner during an exciting weekend of racing from the #WTCR2019SUPERGRID in North Africa.

“I am very happy and a little bit surprised to be on the pace,” said the 2017 FIA World Touring Car champion. “We did not know over the winter where we were, but obviously it’s indescribable to take a victory in the first weekend.

“There is a lot of work of course, everybody in our racing team work a lot. All our mechanics, they work not normal hours. They work really late. They are just pushing for us drivers to be able to drive. It is the same effort as the other teams, but we have put a lot of effort into developing this brand new car.”

Guerrieri triumphed in Race 1 for ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport with Tarquini taking first place in Race 2 for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse.

Meanwhile, Björk and WTCR / OSCARO rookie Néstor Girolami, Guerrieri’s Honda-powered team-mate, joined the Argentine on the Race 1 podium, with Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport’s Jean-Karl Vernay and Yann Ehrlacher finishing second and third to Tarquini in Race 2.

Behind second-placed Vervisch, PWR Racing CUPRA driver Mikel Azcona made it a WTCR / OSCARO debut weekend to remember, the Spanish TCR Europe champion claiming third place.

But it’s Björk who leads on the #ROADTOMALAYSIA, where the 2019 season will reach its climax in December, with a five-point advantage over Guerrieri. ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport heads the Teams’ standings by 12 points ahead of Cyan Racing Lynk & Co.

There were mixed emotions for home hero Mehdi Bennani. After posting two DNFs, the Moroccan hit back with P12 and the TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR.

https://www.fiawtcr.com/lynk-co-pow...-china-with-historic-wtcr-victory-in-morocco/

 

[cirr]

Historic Chinese World Cup victory by Lynk & Co Cyan Racing

2019-04-07

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and Thed Björk delivered the first ever victory by a Chinese manufacturer in a FIA sanctioned World Cup of racing. The victory in the FIA WTCR season opener on the streets of Marrakech, Morocco, has taken the Swedish driver to the points lead.

"Everyone in the team has worked so hard during the winter and to win in the debut race of the all-new Lynk & Co 03 TCR race car is a fantastic reward for all involved," said Thed Björk.

"We were a bit surprised by our speed, especially as this is one of the toughest fields in the history of touring car racing. I can't thank everyone in the team enough, this is a fantastic start to continue building on for the remainder of the season that no doubt will be ultra challenging."

The first of ten FIA World Touring Car Cup weekends of 2019 resulted in one victory, three podium finishes, second place in the teams' standings and the lead of the drivers' standings for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.


"This is a historic moment for Chinese automotive industry, with Lynk & Co claiming the first ever World Cup motorsport victory by a Chinese car manufacturer. This is an incredible start to the season. I wish to thank our partners Shell and Denso, and above all, Cyan Racing. We wish the team the best of success in the coming races," said Mr. Victor Yang, Vice President of Communications at Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Four-time World Champion Yvan Muller started second in the final race of the weekend and made a fantastic start together with team-mate Björk, with both passing Audi driver Frederic Vervisch to claim positions one and two after turn one.

Muller kept the lead until lap 14 when he was forced to retire due to suspension damage, handing the lead to Björk. The Swedish driver kept the lead until the checkered flag dropped on lap 23 despite immense pressure from the Audi driver.

"I was really disappointed to retire from the lead after showing strong form in both qualifying and the races," said Yvan Muller.

"But I am very happy for the team, delivering a victory and points lead on debut with a manufacturer that is completely new to motorsport, Lynk & Co."

Yann Ehrlacher challenged Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri and Tiago Monterio for fifth position on the first lap but was hit and had to retire from the race.

"It was an unfortunate and unnecessary incident. I am disappointed in the result for me personally this weekend, but glad to see our pace and for Thed to win," said Yann Ehrlacher.

Andy Priaulx fought hard from 17th on the grid to finish the race in 13th position.

"Starting this far down on a street circuit like this makes it almost impossible to make progress. But I managed to get into the points and we have made loads of progress heading into the next rounds," said Priaulx.

The next WTCR race weekend takes place on April 26-28th at the legendary F1 circuit Hungaroring in Hungary.

https://www.cyanracing.com/news/2019/04/07/historic-chinese-world-cup-victory-by-lynk-co-cyan-racing

 

[Kai Liu]

Historic Chinese World Cup victory by Lynk & Co Cyan Racing

2019-04-07

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and Thed Björk delivered the first ever victory by a Chinese manufacturer in a FIA sanctioned World Cup of racing. The victory in the FIA WTCR season opener on the streets of Marrakech, Morocco, has taken the Swedish driver to the points lead.

"Everyone in the team has worked so hard during the winter and to win in the debut race of the all-new Lynk & Co 03 TCR race car is a fantastic reward for all involved," said Thed Björk.

"We were a bit surprised by our speed, especially as this is one of the toughest fields in the history of touring car racing. I can't thank everyone in the team enough, this is a fantastic start to continue building on for the remainder of the season that no doubt will be ultra challenging."

The first of ten FIA World Touring Car Cup weekends of 2019 resulted in one victory, three podium finishes, second place in the teams' standings and the lead of the drivers' standings for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.


"This is a historic moment for Chinese automotive industry, with Lynk & Co claiming the first ever World Cup motorsport victory by a Chinese car manufacturer. This is an incredible start to the season. I wish to thank our partners Shell and Denso, and above all, Cyan Racing. We wish the team the best of success in the coming races," said Mr. Victor Yang, Vice President of Communications at Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Four-time World Champion Yvan Muller started second in the final race of the weekend and made a fantastic start together with team-mate Björk, with both passing Audi driver Frederic Vervisch to claim positions one and two after turn one.

Muller kept the lead until lap 14 when he was forced to retire due to suspension damage, handing the lead to Björk. The Swedish driver kept the lead until the checkered flag dropped on lap 23 despite immense pressure from the Audi driver.

"I was really disappointed to retire from the lead after showing strong form in both qualifying and the races," said Yvan Muller.

"But I am very happy for the team, delivering a victory and points lead on debut with a manufacturer that is completely new to motorsport, Lynk & Co."

Yann Ehrlacher challenged Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri and Tiago Monterio for fifth position on the first lap but was hit and had to retire from the race.

"It was an unfortunate and unnecessary incident. I am disappointed in the result for me personally this weekend, but glad to see our pace and for Thed to win," said Yann Ehrlacher.

Andy Priaulx fought hard from 17th on the grid to finish the race in 13th position.

"Starting this far down on a street circuit like this makes it almost impossible to make progress. But I managed to get into the points and we have made loads of progress heading into the next rounds," said Priaulx.

The next WTCR race weekend takes place on April 26-28th at the legendary F1 circuit Hungaroring in Hungary.

https://www.cyanracing.com/news/2019/04/07/historic-chinese-world-cup-victory-by-lynk-co-cyan-racing

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