Santiago Urrutia and Yann Ehrlacher have completed Lynk & Co Cyan Racing’s driver line-up for the 2023 TCR World Tour, joining Ma Qing Hua and Thed Björk in the four-strong team.
All four drivers will be behind the wheel of one of the ‘new-generation’ Lynk & Co 03 TCR cars revealed last week.
Frenchman Ehrlacher is a two-time FIA World Touring Car Cup drivers’ champion, and has raced with the Swedish team since it first competed with the Lynk & Co brand in 2019.
Uruguayan Urrutia joined Cyan Racing in 2020 and has scored five WTCR race victories with the team.
“Yann and Santiago are no doubt two of the best touring car drivers in the world and we look forward to continue our close and successful cooperation with them,” said Fredrik Wahlén, Team Manager of Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.
“We have a strong line-up for the first TCR World Tour season, a prerequisite for what will be one of the toughest championships we have ever taken on.
“We are proud to embark on this journey with the new Lynk & Co 03 TCR, marking the fifth year of our successful Lynk & Co Cyan Racing programme.”
Ehrlacher was the only driver to secure more than one WTCR title, when he lifted the 2020 and 2021 drivers’ crowns.
“I am very happy to start my fifth year with the Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, the team that I have become world champion twice with and done the most races for in my life,” said 26-year-old Ehrlacher.
“The TCR World Tour will be intense and challenging with a lot of new competitors and circuits, but that’s what we are here for.
“I feel confident ahead of the season and the target is to bring home a new world title.”
Urrutia was fifth overall in the 2021 WTCR, and last year was the outfit’s best-ranked driver in WTCR before the team withdrew from the final three events.
“It is a privilege and honour to be back with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing,” said 26-year-old Urrutia. “We have a new challenge this year with a global schedule.
“I am especially looking forward to race in South America and my home country Uruguay. Racing at the top level of world touring cars is always tough and we really need to deliver this year.
“I think our performance will be strong and we are aiming for the very top.”
The news means touring car legend Yvan Muller, who was part of the team’s driver line-up from 2019 through to 2022, will no longer race with the team at the top level of touring cars.
The opening round of the TCR World Tour takes place at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal, in conjunction with TCR Europe, on 29 – 30 April.