Photo: TCR Media

Dusan Borkovic tops free practice as Turn 9 strikes again in Austria FP1

Dusan Borkovic led the first free practice session on Saturday, fastest of all in the GE-Force Alfa Romeo Giuiletta, while there were two incidents at Turn 9, with Zengõ Motorsport’s Ferenc Ficza the most significant, with the car suffering severe damage.

The session started in damp conditions after overnight rain, with Craft-Bamboo SEAT’s James Nash, Comtoyou Audi’s Frédéric Vervisch and Team WRT Volkswagen driver Jean-Karl Vernay swapping the fastest times during the first ten minutes.

Ferenc Ficza then crashed out just after setting the fourth fastest time in his Zengõ Motorsport SEAT León TCR at Turn 9. The session immediately red flagged as both the car was recovered and the barriers were repaired.

The Hungarian hopped out of the car after the crash, where the left-side of the SEAT had taken the brunt of the impact, clearly winded after the accident. The 21-year-old has been taken to hospital after complaining of pain in his ribs.

The repairs took over 30 minutes, with the session resuming at 10:38 CET.

Times continued to tumble as the circuit dried out, with Stefano Comini in the Comtoyou Racing Audi briefly fastest, before both the Opels of Mat’o Homola and local driver Thomas Jäger had turns at the top before Comini grabbed the spot back.

With just five minutes to spare, Dusan Borkovic then jumped to the top of the time sheets in his Alfa Romeo, with Roberto Colciago going second fastest in his Honda, followed by Jean-Karl Vernay and then Dan Lloyd the best-placed of the SEATs in fourth, with Comini dropping to fifth.

There were no further improvements on the final lap as Icarus Motorsports’ Duncan Ende went off at Turn 9, but seemingly managed to avoid the barrier, burying his SEAT León in the gravel.

The next session is Free Practice 2 at 12:00 CET