Geely China Star Team Claims Podiums in Both Races at French Round, Extends Lead in TCR World Tour Standings

The third round of the 2026 FIA TCR World Tour concluded on July 5 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. Geely China Star Racing entered four drivers—Ma Qinghua, Yann Ehrlacher ("Xiao Yang"), Thed Björk ("Björk"), and Santiago Urrutia ("Da Sheng")—piloting four Xingrui TCR cars. In Saturday’s qualifying session, Xiao Yang narrowly missed pole position by just 0.099 seconds, finishing second; Björk qualified fourth, Da Sheng fifth, and Ma Qinghua ninth. In Race 1, Xiao Yang held his position to finish second, while Ma Qinghua and Da Sheng secured sixth and seventh places, respectively. Race 2 featured a reversed-grid start format. Ma Qinghua claimed second place by a narrow margin, Da Sheng took third, Björk finished fifth, and Xiao Yang came sixth—all four team drivers scoring championship points. Although the team couldn’t extend its previous winning streak, Geely China Star Racing still saw drivers reach the podium in both races this weekend and continues to lead both the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships. The team will now head straight to the International Circuit of Realejo in Portugal for the next round.