Macau – Race 1: Yann Ehrlacher, three-time winner of the Touring Car World Cup

The beauty of touring car racing is that teams often never give team orders to their drivers. This was the case for Yann Ehrlacher and Tehd Björk, who had free rein to battle it out on Saturday morning. The Frenchman had the advantage with a 38-point lead over his Cyan Racing-Lynk & Co. teammate. Pole position went to Nestor Girolami for the first time this season at the wheel of his Hyundai Official Elantra. Before the race, the calculation is simple: regardless of his position, if he finishes ahead of Thed Björk, Ehrlacher will be crowned champion for the 3rd time in his career. 

As the lights went out, all the competitors set off without any difficulty, and the sprint to the first corner of Lisboa unfolded smoothly. Ehrlacher got a perfect start and held his own against Girolami for the lead, but without managing to overtake the Argentinian. The main battle seemed to have been won on this first lap; Björk, a little hesitant, was boxed in by Mikel Azcona (Hyundai) and Esteban Guerrieri (Honda). In 5th place, the Swede tried to find a way through the wall of Asian cars separating him from his direct rival for the title. There was no change at the front of the race; Ehrlacher showed no sign of wanting to fight for the win in this first race. Unable to match the top speed of the two Korean cars, he was unable to pass Girolami. His agility and skill, however, allowed him to stay in touch with the race leader. Further back, Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai) made a pit stop. The two-time defending champion is having a difficult race, reflecting his season as a whole. Suffering a puncture, the Hungarian driver will not finish this round at the Guia circuit. 

At the front, and once past the halfway point, the positions seemed perfectly settled, with Girolami still in the lead. Azcona attacked Ehrlacher for second place, but the Frenchman wisely decided not to resist the Spanish driver. Hyundai was poised to secure another one-two finish this season. Yann Ehrlacher crossed the finish line in third place. At 29, he became the World Touring Car Cup winner for the third time in his career. It took four long years of patience to see him once again raise the number one plate. The 2025 season was perfectly executed. Yann reaped the rewards of hard work and unwavering consistency. With no retirements and points scored in every round this season (four wins and four podium finishes), Yvan Muller's nephew once again covered himself in gold, following even more admirably in the footsteps of his illustrious elder.

The emotion was palpable in the young man's words after the arrival: It feels so good, the last few weeks have been incredibly intense. Securing the title in the very first race here in Macau is an amazing feeling! I can't wait to celebrate with all my loved ones and the team because we've all worked so hard. Thank you to my team, my teammates, and everyone who has supported me in Europe. I have a special thought for Yvan (Muller) who isn't here this weekend but has supported me all season. I'm speechless, I'm a world champion for the third time, having started motorsport 10 years ago without any prior experience in the sport. kartingIf you'd told me that, I would have signed immediately! It's beyond anything I could have dreamed of. The problem with titles is that by Monday, we're already thinking about the fourth one. I'll enjoy this one for now, but I can't wait for next year.. "  

Before that, there's one more race to contest: the prestigious Guia Race, the highlight of the weekend here in Macau. Join us tonight (3:45 a.m. Paris time) to find out how the 2025 TCR World Tour season concludes. 

TCR World Tour – Macau

Race 1 results

General classification