New TCN Logo

Upcoming events:

  • Michelin Pilot Challenge at Mosport on 12 Jul
  • TCR Asia at Buriram on 13 Jul
  • TCR Russia at NRing on 13 Jul
  • TCR South America at Mercedes on 13 Jul
  • Súper TC 2000 at TBC on 20 Jul
New TCN Logo

Thed Björk wins sedate race two defined by team orders

Thed Björk led Cyan Racing team-mate Ma Qing Hua home in the second FIA TCR World Tour race on the streets of Vila Real, even though Ma had controlled the first half of the race.

Reverse grid pole-sitter Ignacio Montenegro made a poor start when the lights went out, finding his GOAT Racing Honda swamped by the Lynk & Cos of Ma and Björk, who assumed first and second respectively.

Ma then led the first eight laps of the race with ease, before allowing his Swedish team-mate past on the ninth lap of the Portuguese circuit, with Björk being significantly better-placed in the drivers’ standings to fight for the title and Ma also not being eligible for scoring points in the Teams’ standings this weekend.

- Advertisement -

Nothing further changed in the top positions after that, with Björk thus claiming victory by half a second from his Chinese team-mate, whilst Montenegro completed the podium, having regrouped after his poor start but failing to take the fight to the blue cars out front.

“I’m so happy to be sitting here and I only do it because of Ma, and my team,” said Björk. “Ma had fantastic pace, but now I owe him one victory, and he knows that. I know that he will claim it back.

“It’s so important to be on the podium, score the wins and collect the points. It’s super-tough at the top, so you need all the points you can get.

“Now we are halfway through the season, and I’m very happy and proud to be here in Vila Real, I know how many people and marshals are working here, and I’m very happy that we’re coming back here next year.”

SP Compétition’s Aurélien Comte took fourth for the second successive race, the CUPRA driver gaining two places at the start, although one of those was due to MA:GP’s Viktor Andersson, who should have started fourth, again opting to start from the pitlane.

BRC Racing’s Mikel Azcona brought his Hyundai home in fifth, but it perhaps should have been team-mate Norbert Michelisz, until the Hungarian slowed three laps from the finish with a mechanical issue which saw him return to the pits where his mechanics were scratching their heads looking under his bonnet.

That promoted GOAT Racing’s Esteban Guerrieri to sixth, ahead of Cyan Racing duo Santiago Urrutia and Yann Ehrlacher in seventh and eighth respectively.

GOAT Racing’s Marco Butti kept Ehrlacher honest for much of the race, but he too encountered an issue on the penultimate lap and had to limp to the pits, promoting team-mate Dušan Borković into ninth, with BRC Racing’s Néstor Girolami completing the top ten.

Andersson was 11th in his Lynk & Co, with local wildcard entry Daniel Teixeira in 12th as the best of the Portuguese racers.

Michelisz bagged a handful of points for 13th after limping to take the finish.

Race one winner Ehrlacher leads the drivers’ standings with 250 points, ahead of Guerrieri (223), Urrutia (215), Björk (207) and Ma (149).

Race result

POS NO CL NAT DRIVER ENTRANT CAR LAPS TIME BEST GD
1 111 Thed BJÖRK Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 14 28:54.886 2:02.526 3
2 155 MA Qing Hua Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 14 0.509 2:01.722 2
3 123 Ignacio MONTENEGRO GOAT Racing Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR 14 2.094 2:02.878 1
4 107 Aurélien COMTE SP Compétition CUPRA Leon VZ TCR 14 5.642 2:03.433 6
5 196 Mikel AZCONA BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 14 9.354 2:03.254 7
6 186 Esteban GUERRIERI GOAT Racing Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR 14 14.288 2:02.773 8
7 112 Santiago URRUTIA Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 14 14.345 2:03.175 9
8 168 Yann EHRLACHER Lynk & Co Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 14 14.808 2:03.408 10
9 62 Dušan BORKOVIĆ GOAT Racing Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR 14 16.412 2:03.846 13
10 129 Néstor GIROLAMI BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 14 41.536 2:03.735 14
11 10 Viktor ANDERSSON MA:GP Lynk & Co 03 TCR 13 + 1 LAP 2:04.049 4
12 59 Daniel TEIXEIRA JT59 Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR 13 + 1 LAP 2:05.353 12
13 105 Norbert MICHELISZ BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 13 + 1 LAP 2:03.359 5
14 14 Michel FERNANDES J. Santos Competição Peugeot 308 TCR 13 + 1 LAP 2:12.664 15
15 11 Marco BUTTI GOAT Racing Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR 12 + 2 LAPS 2:03.622 11
NS 77 Manuel FERNANDES JR SP Compétition CUPRA Leon VZ TCR DNS N/A
WD 127 John FILIPPI SP Compétition CUPRA Leon VZ TCR DNS N/A
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Stay Connected

7,273FansLike
6,630FollowersFollow

Must Read

- Advertisement -

Related News

- Advertisement -