Photo: WTCR

Yann Ehrlacher, Yvan Muller complete five-car Lynk & Co line-up

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Yann Ehrlacher and Yvan Muller will both stay with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing for the 2022 World Touring Car Cup season in a move that confirms the team’s expansion to five cars.

Santiago Urrutia and Thed Björk were both retained for another season last week, whilst Ma Qing Hua was announced as a new addition to the line-up last month.

The exact nature of how the five cars will be entered and who will partner who has yet to be confirmed.

“Fielding five of the best touring car drivers in the world is obviously a strength and necessity in our push of defending our WTCR titles,” Fredrik Wahlén, team manager of Cyan Racing said.

“Yann and Yvan are integral to our programme, as they have been since the start of the Lynk & Co Cyan Racing programme and I could not be happier with the line-up that we have. Now we need to put all the pieces together during pre-season testing and deliver when we start racing for real in April.”

Ehrlacher goes into the new season looking to try and secure the WTCR title for the third year in a row, with the 25-year-old admitting he expected a strong challenge during the season ahead.

“Last year was the first time of my life that I was the defending champion and now I am back for a second time, this is something that really motivates me,” he said.

“I have worked hard mentally and physically ahead of this season, and I feel ready. I am super happy to start my fourth season with Cyan Racing, the longest I have ever stayed with a team. The 2022 season will be as challenging as every year, the competition will be very high. I have no illusions that it will be easier after two consecutive titles, we will have to fight even harder this year.”

Muller meanwhile embarks on his 17th season at the highest level of the sport and as the elder statesman on the grid following Gabriele Tarquini’s retirement, he remains as determined as ever to challenge for the title.

“I don’t feel like it has been 17 years since I made my world touring car debut,” he said. “I feel fresh and my mindset ahead of this season is almost like for my first,” said Yvan Muller.

“We have come a long way together as a team during these five years and the results that we have achieved during this period are one of a kind. But the story has not finished and the goal for this season has not changed.”