Pepe Oriola leads SEAT 1-2 in FP1 at Slovakiaring

SUNRED Engineering driver Pepe Oriola was fastest of all in the SEAT León WTCC ahead of Lukoil Racing Team’s Gabriele Tarquini in the first free practice session at the Slovakiaring, with Arena Motorsport’s James Nash completing the top three for Ford.

The Spanish driver’s best lap of 2:13.434 was set shortly after a red flag interruption brought about after Oriola’s team-mate Tiago Monteiro stopped out on track.

Other drivers who had a tough session included Zengõ Motorsport’s Gábor Wéber, who beached his car in the gravel at Turn 8 shortly after the restart, and the other Ford Focus of Tom Chilton, who was only able to set one installation lap.

Gabriele Tarquini went second fastest and was on an even quicker lap at the end of the session before aborting it as the chequered flag came out.

Rob Huff was the fastest Chevrolet driver in fourth ahead of Alain Menu, whilst Tom Coronel was the quickest of the BMWs in eighth.

The second and final free practice session takes place at 12:30 CET.