Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co): “I feel like I’m in a nightmare”

Yann, I imagine that the news this morning must be a shock and a misunderstanding? 

We heard the news a few hours ago. Obviously, it's not the place where we would have liked to be absent. The situation means that a decision has been taken from above. Obviously as a competitor, we want to ride, we want to race and we don't want to watch it on TV. However, this is a decision made by our employer and it must be respected. So, I don't have too many comments to make on this decision but we must respect it. 

But this does not prevent you from having the feeling that your words have not been listened to and that they have not been taken into account. 

Yes and no. I think so. Once again, my job is to pilot and there may be a political aspect behind it that I am unaware of, so I may not have all the elements in my possession. Of course, I wouldn't be able to say whether there were solutions to be found or not. In any case, they felt that it was not possible to continue in a secure and efficient manner. So that's where they came to this conclusion. 

It was perhaps the one and only opportunity to race at home, with the championship that made you a world champion. I imagine that you, like Yvan Müller, must be torn? 

It hurts, it hurts. I feel like I'm in a nightmare, you wake up normally it disappears but now it doesn't disappear. It’s clear that it was probably the only opportunity to be able to ride in front of my audience with all my family, my friends who were going to be there. Afterwards once again, we are a bit like puppets in the situation and it is clear that a lot of effort was made to host this race and that it was surely going to be one of the most beautiful races of my career. It pains me to think that the championship in which I have normally competed for several years will take place 15 minutes from my house and that I would be in the Paddock or watching the race on TV. This hurts us extremely so it’s unfortunate.

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Could this call into question your commitment to WTCR next year? 

Obviously there will be discussions but that's something I can't really comment on, to be honest. But yes there will definitely be discussions. 

I also imagine that for the WTCR, what has just happened with this announcement, it will have a significant impact on the championship.

This will surely have an impact on the championship, that is quite undeniable given that it reduces the number of cars on the grid a little. As I said before, my job is to drive cars and all that extra stuff and politics is a bit beyond my abilities. 

How do you see the weekend going? You still have partners, people who counted on you. 

It sure happens when you're on the other side of the world, emotionally it has less impact. When it happens 20 minutes from home, it’s clear that it’s a little different. That's obviously the region, all that, we still had quite significant support from a lot of people. Whether as a fan, a supporter but also from the region, the circuit which went out of its way to organize this event mainly because Yvan is there and me too, so it's clear that it's not the 'place where we would have liked to experience this kind of... Anyway, we would not have liked to experience this kind of situation but here even less. So there you have it, we will obviously be a little sorry not to be able to put on a show for our fans and our spectators but unfortunately that's how it is, it's a decision that we must respect even if it hurts. 

Do you have the freedom to possibly participate in other things between now and the end of the season? 

Yes, yes, I have the right.

I imagine that you will therefore let many people know that you are available if necessary. 

Yeah, definitely, I'm definitely going to have to do a little work on that. After that, the next few hours and the next few days, we will concentrate above all on trying to be as open as possible and as friendly as possible with all our fans and all the people who would have liked to see us this weekend. And there you go, we're going to try out of respect for the event, etc. that it goes as well as possible but we can't do much more than what we are going to do. 

Comments collected by Fabien Gérard.

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