Yann Ehrlacher: “That’s the best win of my career”

Yann Ehrlacher insisted that his win in the second race of the weekend at the Nürburgring was “one of the best” of his career after the Lynk & Co driver extended his championship lead.

Ehrlacher qualified second on the grid behind the Honda of Nestor Girolami, and he shadowed his rival during the opening lap of the Nordschleife as drivers were once again forced to deal with challenging wet conditions.

The Frenchman managed to benefit from the tow on the Döttinger Höhe to move into the lead at the end of the opening lap and then posted the fastest lap of the race on lap two as he looked to pull out a gap to his rivals behind.

Ehrlacher duly wrapped up the win ahead of Thed Björk as Lynk & Co secured a 1-2 finish, whilst a penalty for Girolami for going through the pitlane twice during his reconnaissance laps meant he finished down in eleventh spot.

That means Ehrlacher now leads the standings by 31 points over Girolami and Björk, with Muller one point further back.

“It was a really good race for us,” Ehrlacher admitted. “I was a bit cautious at the start because the conditions were changing quickly on this long track and I prepared my move on Bebu [Girolami] at the end of the lap.

“On lap two, I pushed like hell to build a gap and that was definitely one of the craziest laps of my career. On lap three I was just managing the gap, and here we are leading the championship and winning this race, which is one of the craziest I have ever done.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to win a race on the greatest track in the world. I can’t believe we won on the Nordschleife in those conditions. It’s the best win of my career, absolutely insane. It’s good for the team and for the drivers’ championship.”