The last race of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour event at Inje Speedium saw Thed Björk and Yann Ehrlacher finishing 1-2 for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, showing a pace that nobody could match. Not even Esteban Guerrieri who tried to chase Ehrlacher in the early stages but eventually had to settle for third.
Victory went to the fastest driver of the whole weekend, as Björk had set the pace in Qualifying before being demoted on the grid by a penalty, then finished on the podium in the first two races and finally dominated Race 3. He was a worthy recipient of the Special Trophy offered by the Inje County.
The Swede has also moved to second in the standings, three points ahead of Guerrieri and 42 behind Ehrlacher.
Diego Moran completed a hat-trick in TCR Asia, which helped him to close the gap in the championship classification to 22 points behind Sean Chang Chien Shang.
The grid was based on the points scored in Qualifying and the first two races, and so Björk was on pole, with Ehrlacher alongside. Josh Buchan-Guerrieri and Santiago Urrutia-Mikel Azcona filled the second and third rows. Björk made a good start and led from Ehrlacher and Guerrieri, while Azcona from P5 climbed to fourth ahead of Urrutia who was chased by Buchan. The race became processional with some changes among the midfielders: Aurélien Comte overtook Dušan Borković and Ignacio Montenegro, advancing to tenth, while Moran took the lead in TCR Asia passing Choi Jeong Weon.
Björk and Ehrlacher appeared to be in control and Guerrieri began to lose contact. In lap 10, Comte passed Néstor Girolami moving up to ninth. In TCR Asia, Moran pulled away from Choi who defended the second place from Chang. Comte continued his charge and overtook Norbert Michelisz for eighth in lap 13; then he passed Ma Qing Hua for seventh. The last thrill was the battle for P4, as Urrutia and Buchan managed to catch Azcona who had lost pace, but was able to retain the position.
In TCR Asia, Moran scored his third win of the weekend and once again Choi beat Chang for the second place under the flag.
The TCR World Tour and TCR Asia will resume together in two weeks in China, at Zhuzhou International Circuit.
Race 3
- Thed Björk (Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, Lynk & Co 03 FL), 19 laps
- Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, Lynk & Co 03 FL), 1.525
- Esteban Guerrieri (GOAT Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 2.073
Championship points
- Y. Ehrlacher, 374 pts; 2. T. Björk, 332; 3. E. Guerrieri, 329
Championship points – TCR Asia
- Chang C.S., 295 pts; 2. D. Moran, 273; 3. B. Santoso, 239
Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport
