Lynk & Co announces drivers for TCR World Tour

Lynk & Co and its Cyan racing operating team are set to make their comeback in an international touring car racing championship. As a reminder, the Chinese manufacturer left the competition last year, in the middle of the WTCR season. Lynk & Co slammed the door in protest at a BoP that was too severe for the brand, leading to recurring tire problems.

The decision to end the season plunged the five drivers into technical unemployment (Yann Ehrlacher, Yvan Muller, Santiago Urrutia, Thed Bjork, Ma Qing Hua, editor's note). The crossing of the desert was long, but the Chinese manufacturer has decided to make its return to the TCR World Tour, the season of which will begin on April 28 on the Portuguese track of Portimao. Lynk & Co waited until the registration deadline (February 28) for the 2023 season to make its announcement.

Ehrlacher returns with Lynk & Co

The four drivers who will campaign are now known. Thed Björk and Ma Qing Hua were the first to have confirmation that they would be behind the wheel of the evolution of the TCR 03. The whole team was testing on the Barcelona circuit last week to get to grips with this new version of the most successful car in WTCR. For Björk, it is a great reward for her entire career with Cyan Racing. The 2017 WTCC world champion is the perfect teammate who knows how to put himself at the service of the team.

Ma Qing Hua was an official Citroën driver in the WTCC. He returned to international competition last year after winning the TCR Asia title in 2020. Yvan Muller having retired from touring car racing, only four cars will be entered this season by Lynk & Co-Cyan Racing. Yann Ehrlacher and Santiago Urrutia will also be there. The Alsatian had told us of his desire to continue in tourism (AH n°2395), he will be part of the first campaign of the TCR World Tour alongside the man who could quickly become his biggest rival for the season Santiago Urrutia. The two men will have to get along well if they don't want to see their clash become the team's best ally Hyundai Motorsport.

The Lynk & Co-Cyan Racing team seems perfectly equipped to take on this new international challenge, hoping, this time, to see it stick to its commitments.

ALSO READ > Hyundai enters TCR World Tour