Photo: WTCR

Thed Björk leads a Hyundai 1-2-3 in Vila Real Free Practice 1

By

2017 WTCC champion Thed Björk was fastest of all in the first practice session at Vila Real, leading the rival BRC Hyundai of Gabriele Tarquini in the 30-minute session, with Björk’s YMR team-mate Yvan Muller third fastest.

The Swedish driver jumped to the top of the time sheets after 20 minutes, and was significantly faster than his competition, finishing the session seven-tenths of a second clear of Tarquini around the 4.785km circuit.

The Hyundais have been given back 10mm of ride height after a disastrous run last time out at Zandvoort, when they ran at the maximum possible ride height of 100mm.

The South Korean marque has also been able to drop 10kg of compensation weight after the Hondas were calculated as being the fastest cars on average over the last three rounds, with the Hondas now running the maximum possible of 60kg this weekend.

The closest cars to the Hyundais were the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs of Sébastien Loeb Racing, with Mehdi Bennani and Rob Huff finishing the session fourth and fifth.

Championship leader Yann Ehrlacher was the fastest of the Hondas in sixth, 1.3 seconds from Björk’s time in his Münnich Motorsport Honda Civic TCR, with Norbert Michelisz seventh in his BRC Racing Team Hyundai.

John Filippi was the best-placed of the light-weight Cupra TCRs in eighth in his Campos Racing entry ahead of Norbert Nagy’s Zengo Cupra, with Mat’o Homola completing the top ten in his DG Sport Compétition Peugeot 308TCR.

The three Audi RS 3s of Frédéric Vervisch, Nathanael Berthon and Aurélien Panis weren’t permitted to take part in the first five minutes of practice after they had been caught taking part in a recce on scooters the day before.

The session was red-flagged with 14 minutes to go when Zsolt Szabo broke the suspension on his Zengo Cupra TCR after leaping over one of the roundabouts.

When the session resumed, Benjamin Lessennes then broke his front-right suspension on his Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic at the chicane at Turn 19, but was able to return to the pit lane.

The second practice session follows shortly at 11:00 WEST / 12:00 CEST.