Photo: Audi Sport

Rob Huff heads first tests of joint TCR World Tour and TCR Europe opener

By

Rob Huff was fastest of all in the pre-event test day at Algarve for the TCR World Tour and TCR Europe season opener.

The Comtoyou Racing driver set a lap time of 1:51.307 in the first one-hour session and 1:51.936 in the second which saw him top both, getting within 0.063 seconds of last year’s TCR Europe pole time.

FIA WTCR champion Mikel Azcona was closest to the Brit in the first session, just nine thousands of a second behind, with Hyundai team-mate Nobert Michelisz a further 0.133 seconds behind in third.

Huff’s team-mate Frédéric Vervisch headed three Comtoyou Racing driver in positions four to seven, with former rallycross driver Kobe Pauwels impressing in fifth, John Filippi in sixth and Tom Coronel in seventh.

The second session saw Vervisch rising to second position, just 0.025 seconds behind team-mate Huff, while ALM Motorsport driver Néstor Girolami took his new Honda Civic Type R TCR to third position, a further 26 thousands of a second slower.

TCR Europe and touring car newcomer Viktor Andersson impressed with the fourth fastest time of the second session, beating Azcona by 27 thousands of a second.

Pauwels was sixth ahead of Michelisz while Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver Yann Ehrlacher rounded off the top eight, six tenths from the top time.

Next up for the combined TCR World Tour and TCR Europe field is Free Practice 1, starting at 11:54 local time/12:54 CEST tomorrow.