Thed Björk: “We came close to destroying three cars”

Thed Björk claimed a strong victory in the final FIA TCR World Tour race of the weekend on the streets of Vila Real. But the Swede says it was close that the victory turned into a big crash.

“The weekend was absolutely fantastic for the team and for me,” Björk told TouringCarTimes.

“But the whole weekend was a lot of emotions and I’m very happy to finish the race, because we came close to destroying three cars with a lapped car,” said Björk, referring to a close call when lapping Peugeot driver Michel Fernandes at the end of the race.

The Lynk & Co Cyan Racing started from third on the grid, overtook Honda driver Ignacio Montenegro at the start and was later let past into the lead by team-mate Ma Qing Hua.

“It was key having a good start. I was able to overtake Montenegro and then Ma gave me the position, because it’s impossible to overtake here,” said Björk.

Björk had a lot of praise for team-mate Ma, who showed a strong pace before he gave the position to the Swede who is better placed in the championship.

“Ma was having a fantastic pace and now I owe him a victory, and he knows that!” said Björk.

“It is so important to be on the podium, score the wins and collect the points. This is where we need to be, it’s so tough at the top from the beginning.”

Cyan Racing team-mate Yann Ehrlacher leads the championship on 250 points, with Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri 27 points behind and Santiago Urrutia 35 points adrift. Björk is fourth, 43 points behind the Frenchman.

“We are now half-way through the season but for me, coming to Vila Real and getting the points, this is where the championship began,” said Björk.

“It’s very emotional to win here, my family are here. Last time I won here was 2018 and I remember it so well. In 2022 I didn’t have such a good race here, so I’m very happy to be back on the top step and now I can’t wait to race in Australia.”