Photo: TCR Series

Denis Dupont tops second practice session for Comtoyou at Dubai

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Comtoyou Racing driver Denis Dupont was fastest of all in the second free practice session at Dubai, leading a SEAT 1-2 with Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Pepe Oriola improving to second in the final monents, with Hyundai’s Alain Menu completing the top three.

TCR International Series championship leader Jean-Karl Vernay set the early pace in his WRT Volkswagen, before Alain Menu put his Hyundai on top just after ten minutes, and remained there for a further ten minutes, until 24-year-old Dupont, in his second outing in the series, leapt to the top of the time sheets with a time of 1:28.510.

Oriola proved to be his closest rival, with the Spaniard coming within four-hundredths of a second on his final lap.

Alain Menu’s time kept him within a tenth, while TCR International Series debutant Aurélien Comte launched his DG Sport Opel Astra into fourth ahead of Vernay’s Volkswagen.

Free Practice 1 pace-setter Frédéric Vervisch finished the session sixth, the best-placed of the two Audis, with Gianni Morbidelli ending the session seventh in his WestCoast Volkswagen after missing the early running.

Reigning champion Stefano Comini was eighth, meaning all three of Comtoyou’s cars were in the top eight, while Josh Files was in the top ten for Honda, putting the M1RA-run Civic TCR in ninth, just ahead of his former TCR Germany rival Benjamin Leuchter in the WestCoast Volkswagen.

There were track limits warnings dished out to a number of drivers, including Comte, Team WRT’s Gordon Shedden and M1RA Honda driver Attila Tassi

Aurélien Comte had also lost time after experiencing a puncture on his Astra TCR, while the two Italians, Gabriele Tarquini in the Hyundai, and Gianni Morbidelli in the WestCoast Volkswagen missed some running in the session, with Tarquini joining ten minutes late, and with Morbidelli out with just five minutes to go.

Tarquini ended the session in 16th,with many of the title players and their team-mates also outside the top ten, with Gordon Shedden 14th albeit just eight-tenths off the pace in the Team WRT Volkswagen, while the two title battling M1RA Hondas of Roberto Colciago and Attila Tassi were 15th and 18th respectively.

Qualifying is next up and gets underway at 15:30 GST (12:30 CET).