WTCR Marrakech: Thed Bjork feared breaking his new Lynk & Co car

Bjork won the third race of the season-opening weekend on Sunday evening, but only after team-mate Yvan Muller had slowed from the lead with what the pair's Cyan team later diagnosed as a suspension problem.

Muller's new Lynk & Co 03 also suffered an oil leak a day earlier after bouncing over one of the Moulay El Hassan circuit's kerbs in qualifying, which required the car's engine to be changed.

While Bjork was able to close out the race-three win - aided by a safety car period at the end of the race - he had to resist pressure from the polesitting Comtoyou Audi of Frederic Vervisch, who dropped to third off the line but stayed with the leaders throughout.

Asked about Muller's retirement, Bjork said: "The problem was something happened with his car and I had exactly the same car as him.

"The team told me, 'Don't go on the kerbs', because we didn't know what had happened to his car.

"I really tried to take care of the car, all the bumps here are really aggressive. So I'm really happy I was able to keep Vervisch behind me and take the win.

"If I would have pushed harder maybe I would have broken my car.

"Going for the victory and not finishing was not an option, so I really tried to be at a level where I could win but not break the car."

The Lynk & Co 03 was developed for Cyan by the team's motorsport partner Geely Group Motorsport over the winter, and the Marrakech weekend marked its competitive debut.

Bjork, who said prior to the season opener that Cyan's first challenge would be to get on top of its new challenger, added he had not expected the Lynk & Co to be as competitive on its first weekend.

"There is a lot of work, of course, everybody in our racing team works a lot," said Bjork, who leads Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri by five points after the first round of the season.

"They are just pushing for us drivers to be able to drive.

"It is the same effort as the other teams, but we have put a lot of effort into developing this brand new car.

"I am very happy and a little bit surprised to be on the pace.

"We did not know over the winter where we were, but obviously it's indescribable to take a victory in the first weekend."