Race three winner Thed Björk has praised the efforts of the YMR team for repairing his car overnight, after the Swede kept his title hopes alive in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in Vila Real.
Having been involved in a huge pile-up at the start of Saturday’s first race, Björk’s chances of getting on Sunday appeared to be slim, especially considering his car even caught fire after the initial accident.
But the mechanics at Yvan Muller Racing worked through the night to fix his Hyundai i30 N TCR, and Björk went on to repay that work by taking pole position in Sunday morning’s qualifying session, before finishing tenth in the reverse grid race two and then taking the win in the all-important race three.
“The team did a fantastic job,” said Björk. “They repaired the whole car all through the night and worked all night.
“On the first lap I did this morning in Q1 they were cheering, it was so fantastic. I had a great feeling all day and forgot about the big accident.
“It was such a nice car, unbelievable. I had the speed. But you see Norbert [Michelisz], he damaged his hand, so it was a tough weekend in many ways.
“I can only be happy to win, but I am also happy to be here in Vila Real because the people here are fantastic.”
Björk also praised his team boss Muller, who assembled the team, including many Cyan Racing mechanics, at the start of the season.
“Yvan, my team-mate, is a fantastic driver and for putting the team together, I’m really thankful for that.
“But many teams this weekend have been working really hard with the cars and getting them out on track, so it was not only us.
“So many cars were damaged, so everybody has done a fantastic job.”