Lopez leads delayed Vila Real test session
Citroen's Jose Maria Lopez was fastest of all in the first testing session at the Vila Real circuit in Portugal, over eight tenths of a second faster than the Honda of Norbert Michelisz.
Photo by: FIA WTCC
The championship leader clocked a best lap around the newest circuit on the WTCC calendar of 2:01.455 in his C-Elysee, in a session which was delayed and then red-flagged early on due to problems with one of the barriers.
Michelisz was the only driver within a second of Lopez, with Lopez's teammate and closest championship rival Yvan Muller third, 1.4 seconds down.
Sebastien Loeb was fourth fastest in his Citroen ahead of Mehdi Bennani in the Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen.
Gabriele Tarquini was the fastest of the factory Hondas in sixth, ahead of Hugo Valente, who was the fastest of the Chevrolet drivers.
Tiago Monteiro was eighth fastest at his home circuit in the works Honda Civic, with Nestor Girolami ninth fastest for Nika Racing in his second outing of the season, with Citroen's Ma Qing Hua completing the top ten.
Jaap van Lagen was the best placed of the three works Ladas in 12th, leading teammates Rob Huff and Nicky Catsburg in 13th and 14th.
Neil Hudson/TouringCarTimes
| Pos | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen | 2'01.455 | 11 | |
| 2 | N.Michelisz | Honda | 2'02.269 | 0.814 | 12 |
| 3 | Yvan Muller | Citroen | 2'02.819 | 1.364 | 12 |
| 4 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen | 2'02.920 | 1.465 | 11 |
| 5 | Mehdi Bennani | Citroen | 2'03.371 | 1.916 | 12 |
| 6 | G.Tarquini | Honda | 2'03.639 | 2.184 | 12 |
| 7 | Hugo Valente | Chevrolet | 2'03.899 | 2.444 | 12 |
| 8 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda | 2'04.205 | 2.750 | 13 |
| 9 | Nestor Girolami | Honda | 2'04.851 | 3.396 | 12 |
| 10 | Ma Qing Hua | Citroen | 2'04.892 | 3.437 | 12 |
| 11 | Tom Coronel | Chevrolet | 2'05.358 | 3.903 | 12 |
| 12 | Jaap van Lagen | Lada | 2'05.931 | 4.476 | 10 |
| 13 | Rob Huff | Lada | 2'06.202 | 4.747 | 12 |
| 14 | Nicky Catsburg | Lada | 2'06.423 | 4.968 | 11 |
| 15 | Stefano D'Aste | Chevrolet | 2'06.538 | 5.083 | 11 |
| 16 | Tom Chilton | Chevrolet | 2'06.945 | 5.490 | 11 |
| 17 | John Filippi | Chevrolet | 2'08.620 | 7.165 | 10 |
| 18 | G.Demoustier | Chevrolet | 2'10.498 | 9.043 | 10 |
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