Yann Ehrlacher: “We were not expecting this”

Cyan Racing driver Yann Ehrlacher continued his domination of the fourth 2025 FIA TCR World Tour round at Vila Real, clinching victory from pole position in Race 1 despite 30 kilos of compensation weight.

“It was a good win from the pole position, it’s what we wanted and is going well so far,” said the Frenchman, who turned 31 two days ago, to TouringCarTimes.

“We were not expecting this when we came here, but we wanted to stay close to the top and we took a lot of risks on the sessions since the beginning of the weekend.

“We used everything to put a lap together for qualifying and it went ok. Now we will focus on the last race of the weekend and of the first half of the season and, to be honest, I’m quite happy.”

Ehrlacher got a good getaway as the lights went out, closely followed by team-mate Santiago Urrutia.

“The start was really important, because, if you lose a place, then it’s gone for you,” said Ehrlacher.

Several drivers suffered tyre issues during the race, with Ehrlacher carefully managing his tyres.

“Tyre management was a bit unexpected for us because we didn’t do any race simulations in free practice and it’s the first time we come here with this tyre, so no testing,” said the championship leader.

“I heard in the radio that people were getting some punctures, so I started managing my tyre until the end.”