Lynk & Co Cyan Racing’s Thed Björk has turned around his season in just two race weekends, going from the last of the Cyan Racing contingent to the best-placed in the points standings after strong results at Mid-Ohio and Interlagos.
Björk converted a second row start to victory in Race 1 in the USA, while a follow-up podium finish in Race 2 at Interlagos has seen him jump ahead of team-mates Yann Ehrlacher, Ma Qing Hua and Santiago Urrutia; in the points table and he’s now 37 points behind current leader Norbert Michelisz before the Uruguayan round next weekend.
“It feels great to be back at the front,” said Björk. “Norbi has a lot of points, but there’s still a lot of things that can happen. I’ve been finding some pace that feels good, and I’d like to keep that momentum going and that’s going to help me fight for the championship as best as I can.”
With the team now moving into the lead of the teams’ championship, the question is whether the team will switch focus to battle for just the teams’ title while BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Michelisz has a slight margin in the drivers’ title battle, but Björk rules out the team settling at this point.
“The thing is you can’t win the teams’ championship if you’re not fighting for positions and good points, they go together. We want to win both titles. We need to see what pace we have at each race, and hopefully if I can keep scoring the points maybe I’ll be the one getting some help from the team, like Norbi is getting from his team now.”
Ehrlacher’s weekend in Brazil was mixed, as he picked up a fourth-place finish in Race 1, but then didn’t score in Race 2 following an incident on the opening lap. With a loose bonnet in Vallelunga and an engine failure in Morocco, Ehrlacher has either not scored or just picked up marginal points in three out of the eight races so far this season.
“I’m not thinking about the championship and I’m just taking it race by race, but a gap of 40 points is a bit too much,” said Ehrlacher. “We will focus on the teams’ championship, but luck is not really on our side. I don’t ever rely on luck, but I will need a little bit at some point. When I manage to finish, I’m almost on the podium all the time.”
Picture: TCR South America
