The Honda Civic car of Gianni Morbidelli set the fastest lap in today’s test a Monza.
The West Coast Racing driver was clocked at 2:00.691 during the afternoon session, beating the rest of the field by more than one second.
"We have done a good work today. I feel very comfortable with the car, and it was easy to get close to the limit, but it doesn't mean much. I am sure that tomorrow the SEAT cars will be much faster. We have seen this happening on Friday in previous events, so we need to stay cautious and continue working," said the Italian.
The current championship leader Stefano Comini (2:01.730), Pepe Oriola (2:01.815), Lorenzo Veglia (2:02.171) and Jordi Gené (2:02.235) filled the positions from second to fifth in their SEAT León cars, while Morbidelli’s teammate Kevin Gleason (2:02.400) ranked sixth.
Comini commented: "We are not entirely happy, it was difficult today to get top speed and the good lap time is due mainly to slipstreaming. We need to improve and we hope also that the temperature will not raise much, as this will make things more difficult."
B.D. Racing’s Antonio D’Amico (2:02.645) and Zengő Motorsport’s Zsolt Szabó (2:02.763) were remarkably placed seventh and eighth on their maiden appearance in the series.
Fernando Monje drove the Campos Racing Opel Astra to set the 14thfastest lap (2:03.725), while Tom Boardman was only able to complete a few laps in the morning at the wheel of the Proteam Racing Ford Focus, before being stopped by a gearbox problem.
TCR drivers will return to action tomorrow morning at 9.30 for the first Free Practice.
