A trio of driveshaft dramas have hampered the efforts of Cyan Racing drivers Yann Ehrlacher, Yvan Muller and Thed Björk during practice for the FIA World Touring Car Cup in Pau.
In first practice, Björk was the first driver to be on the end of the mechanical dramas, when he broke the driveshaft on his Lynk & Co 03 TCR and completed 18 laps, the joint fewest in the session.
Then, in second practice, reigning champion Ehrlacher and his uncle Muller both suffered from driveshaft issues, limiting their running.
Ehrlacher’s driveshaft broke on his second flying lap, and he was only just able to rejoin the session at the end in order to scrub in some tyres for qualifying, the Frenchman ending up with the fourth best time on his late effort.
“This track is really complicated for the mechanics,” Ehrlacher told Eurosport. “The car is suffering quite a lot, there are a lot of bumps and stuff, so it’s quite painful for all the driveshafts and the suspension.
“I broke one and Yvan broke one as well and I think it is something we will see again this weekend unfortunately, so it will be up to the driver to be careful on that.
“The boys did a much better job than I have done this practice session – I have done nothing much actually, just two [flying] laps, but they did a proper job to bring me back on track at the end.
“It will be really tough to be up to speed quick [in qualifying] and not making any mistakes – it’s really unforgivable for mistakes here.
“We had a good free practice – I have done two flying laps so I could not have expected more, and I got traffic as well.
“The pace is there and the car is being very well. I like the place and it is very intense. It’s really nice to see all of the fans back on track.”
Ehrlacher’s engineer Kevin Berry stressed the importance of getting him on track before the end of the second session.
“Particularly with a street track like this, every lap is a learning lap – we need to get out and do a proper run on new tyres before qualifying, so it’s Yann’s only chance for a shot on new [tyres] before qualifying.”
Experienced hand Muller emphasised that the drivers would need to find a way to avoid breaking driveshafts in future sessions this weekend.
“It’s better if that happens now rather than later,” said Muller. “We have to adapt our car to the circuit.
“It’s not very optimistic for the rest of the weekend, but we have to change something.”