WTCR organizers working towards Lynk & Co return in 2023

This is the announcement that has shaken the WTCR since Thursday. Lynk & Co has decided to end its WTCR involvement before the start of round 7 at the Anneau du Rhin. A decision that surprised everyone involved in this World Cup, from the organizers to the Goodyear tire suppliers. It is precisely the latter who are in the sights of the Chinese team's complaints. Indeed, Lynk & Co made this decision after the numerous punctures that appeared at the Nürburgring and Vallelunga. 

Faced with this decision, Marek Nawarecki, Marcello Lotti and Jean-Baptiste Ley wanted to clarify the current situation regarding Goodyear tires. “ After what happened at the Nürburgring, we carried out with Goodyear a number of analyses, tests and checks to determine the origin of the tire conditions that were observed at the Nürburgring and Vallelunga. We can't point to just one reason. The situation is the result of a significant number of different factors and certain weaknesses have been identified in the tires by the rubber supplier. The direct change in tire condition was therefore due to temperature », Underlines Marek Nawarecki, director of the tourism department at the FIA. 

These weaknesses seen on the tires twice this season are therefore the sum of the reasons which pushed Lynk & Co to leave the championship immediately and even before the first tests at the Ring of the Rhine. A decision regretted by the organizers of the championship which nevertheless allowed each team to have two additional practice sessions. “ I didn't understand the real reason why they didn't take the opportunity to ride. The team was here on the track, Yvan Muller was here, he is a local hero in this region and they decided to abandon before even having the chance to test the car in these conditions », underlines Marcello Lotti, president of WSC. 

Lynk & Co requested a readjustment of the BoP

But for Lynk & Co to participate in the two races at the Ring of the Rhine and the rest of the calendar, the Chinese team had several requests. “ For our part, we received a request from them. They agreed with this 20 kilo reduction for all cars but they also requested a change in BoP for their cars to have a 30 kilo reduction. We explained to them very clearly that for us, in terms of timing, it was impossible to make a dedicated adjustment to Lynk & Co on time. Before making a change in the BoP, we need a clear analysis of the changes we are applying to the car, how it will be positioned in relation to others. And making this change without enough time, especially when it comes to weight, is not fair to BoP and other competitors », Announces Marcello Lotti. 

However, measures had been taken on Goodyear tires since Vallelunga to minimize the risk of punctures in Alsace. “ From what we know and what we evaluate with the tire manufacturer, we know that the weakness is related to tire temperature. Following this, a correction was made in the manufacturing of the new tires after the Nürburgring which seemed to be sufficient for the following races but not for the Vallelunga race. What has been done is to identify the situation in which tire failures occur, to evaluate the conditions that have been applied to the tires to avoid these types of situations, i.e. avoid tires are subjected to high temperature conditions. These measures applied are weight reduction and resizing, application and recommendation of tire settings, as well as ensuring that teams use new tires on the circuits, so that the tires do not have not been subjected to high temperatures. That's why we allocated all new tires for this race », specifies Marek Nawarecki. 

Discussions underway for a return of the Chinese team in 2023

So after this decision, the championship organizers are continuing discussions with Lynk & Co to bring the Chinese team back into the ranks of competitors in 2023. “ For Cyan's decision, we have to respect the competitors' decisions, that's the main point. Obviously, our goal now is to continue ongoing discussions with them in order to reach an agreement for them to be back next season. Cyan has been part of this championship for many years, they have brought a lot to the championship, we have to respect that and obviously this situation is complicated for all parts of the world cup, for the FIA, for us as promoter of the series. The main goal is to continue working together in the near future », announces Jean-Baptiste Ley, director of the WTCR. For the moment, we still do not know if Lynk & Co will be present in 2023 but the “unexpected” decision of the Chinese team should not prevent the 2023 WTCR season from taking place. 

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