Björk and Urrutia make a Lynk & Co 1-2 in Aragón Race 3
Thed Björk became the third driver to score his first WTCR victory of the season in the penultimate weekend of the 2020 FIA World Cup at Motorland Aragón. After Jean-Karl Vernay in Race 1 and Mikel Azcona in Race 2, the Swede led home a Lynk & Co 1-2, with his young teammate Santiago Urritia in second position to claim his third podium result of the day. Gabriele Tarquini put in a great effort to win the battle for third with Comtoyou Racing teammates Nathanaël Berthon and Gilles Magnus.
With a lightning start Björk, took the lead from second on the grid ahead of Magnus and Urrutia. The Belgian youngster found himself sandwiched between the two Lynk & Co cars, trying to attack Björk and defend from Urrutia at the same time.
After a safety car intervention to recover the stricken Honda of Néstor Girolami that had been t-boned by Luca Engstler’s Hyundai, the field resumed racing in the fourth lap. Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro returned to the pit, but while the Hungarian rejoined after changing a punctured tyre, the Portuguese was sidelined by a technical issue.
Magnus was hunting Björk for the lead, but he had to look into the mirrors because Urrutia was very agressive behind him. Halfway through the race, the Uruguayan overtook Magnus and closed in the gap on his teammate Björk.
Further back, Yvan Muller was struggling with lack of power, and his Lynk & Co was chased and passed by Josh Files, Tom Coronel and Esteban Guerrieri who advanced to 9th, 10th and 11th. Moments later the pace of Yann Ehrlacher’s Lynk & Co faded as well and the leader of the championship began to drop down and eventually finished in 12th position, having been passed by Guerrieri and Nicolas Baert.
While Björk carefully didn’t concede any opportunity to Urrutia for trying an overtaking manoeuvre, there was a thrilling fight for P3; with a brilliant move Tarquini overtook Magnus who was also passed by Berthon and dropped to fifth. Right behind them, Vernay kept Azcona at bay to finish sixth, while Files achieved a brilliant eighth place in his maiden WTCR appearance ahead of Coronel and Guerrieri.
As far as the championship standings are concerned, Ehrlacher lost only one point to Guerrieri and is still leading by 26, while Vernay has retaken the third position on equal points with Muller.
The WTCR will return to Motorland Aragón for the season finale on November 14/15.
Race 3
1. Thed Björk (Cyan Performance, Lynk & Co 03), 14 laps
2. Santiago Urrutia (Cyan Performance, Lynk & Co 03), 0.565
3. Gabriele Tarquini (BRC Racing Team, Hyundai i30 N), 6.783
4. Nathanaël Berthon (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 8.240
5. Gilles Magnus (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 4.613
Championship points
1. Yann Ehrlacher 188 pts; 2. Esteban Guerrieri 162; 3. Jean-Karl Vernay 146
Picture: WTCR/DPPI
