Photo: TCR Media

Mikhail Grachev fastest on home soil

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Mikhail Grachev set the pace in his Liqui Moly Team Engstler SEAT in Sochi, Russia. The local driver managed an unbeatable lap time midway through the session and never left the lead.

Gianni Morbidelli came home second in his WestCoast Racing Honda Civic, with Free Practice 1 leader Pepe Oriola in third in his Craft-Bamboo Lukoil León Racer.

A few drops of rain fell on the circuit before the session started, although it did not influence the level of grip of the track. Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Jordi Gené initially led the session ahead of Morbidelli, but when Grachev fitted new tyres on his León he broke the 2’21 barrier, which nobody else was able to do.

Aleksei Dudukalo came home fourth, again showing good form ahead of qualifying, with championship contender Stefano Comini improving on his struggles in Free Practice 1 with a good fifth in the second session, considering the Swiss used no new tyres.

Early session leader Jordi Gené came sixth ahead of Target Competition’s Andrea Belicchi, with Thomas Engström struggling to repeat the good performances showed this morning and finishing eighth. Target Competition’s Michel Nykjaer and home hero Sergey Afanasyev closed the top ten, with the two remaining Hondas still struggling in the last two places, although with Ildar Rakhmatullin ahead of WestCoast Racing team-mate Kevin Gleason.

Session leader Mikhail Grachev hopes his home advantage will last long enough to maintain this level of performance throughout the weekend: “I do have a slight advantage on this track and I am happy it worked out,” admitted the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver. “Still, competition will learn fast, but I hope I can make something good in my home event.”

Craft-Bamboo Lukoil’s Jordi Gené underlined the importance of track limits: “I still am the fastest driver in sector 1, which is the only one where you cannot play with track limits. Here, it all depends on how much you cut the lines, especially in sector 2, where kerbs are basically not existent.”

Championship contender Stefano Comini is confident he will perform well at the Russian track: “Given the fact I was on old tyres and brake pads, I am very happy of my result. Here it really depends more on those elements than on pure ability.”

Qualifying is scheduled for 15.10 local time, and will only last 20 minutes.