TCR World and life

5 Yann Ehrlacher retained the WTCR crown, becoming the first driver to win the FIA World Touring Car Cup twice. The French youngster clinched the title in the penultimate race of the season at Sochi, driving his Cyan Racing- run Lynk & Co 03 to finish sixth in pouring rain (right), a position that became fifth thanks to the five-second penalty for a grid infringement imposed on his closest rival Frédéric Vervisch who had been third at the chequered flag. Esteban Guerrieri, Ehrlacher’s other competitor in the title fight, had crashed out of contention after the start. It was the end of an impressive season in which the defending champion made the top- ten in all sixteen races, with the peaks being two wins at Estoril and Adria (above). His consistency made the difference in a championship that saw twelve different drivers scoring victories, with only three of them – Ehrlacher, Vervisch and Jean-Karl Vernay – capable of winning twice.