Hungaroring, FP1-2 : Huff and Michelisz top the timesheets

Rob Huff has gone fastest in Free Practice 1 at FIA WTCC JVCKENWOOD Race of Hungary, lapping a damp Hungaroring in 1m50.609s.

World Touring Car Championship leader Tiago Monteiro was second fastest, 0.067s slower in his Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Civic with Thed Björk, his closest title rival, third for Polestar Cyan Racing. Esteban Guerrieri was fourth for Campos Racing with Nicky Catsburg (Volvo Polestar) and Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani sixth.

“It wasn’t ever dry, it wasn’t ever wet so tyres became a tough choice because it was too wet for slicks, too dry for wets,” said Huff, whose ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Citroën C-Elysée is carrying an extra 10 kilograms of compensation weight this weekend.

“Of course would rather not have the 10ks because the more weight you have to carry, the more it hurts you but hopefully not too much here. We got a good lap in at the right time.”

While Huff is carrying 60 kilograms of success ballast in total, all five Honda Civic WTCCs and the three Volvo S60 Polestars are running with 80 kilograms at the Hungaroring.

“I feel a bit more inertia everywhere,” said Monteiro. “I feel I want to brake later but it just doesn’t stop. Then every corner it’s a little more lazy, it feels like you have a passenger on your side.”

Björk added: “It’s no problem because Honda is the same so we are fighting in equal conditions and it equals good. We just have to keep doing the fight.”

Elsewhere, Tom Chilton, Néstor Girolami, Tom Coronel and Ryo Michigami completed the top 10 with Yann Ehrlacher, Aurélien Panis, John Filippi and Kevin Gleason next up. Local hero Norbert Michelisz was P15 due to falling oil pressure issues. Fellow Hungarian Dániel Nagy ended the 45-minute session P16.

FP2:

Norbert Michelisz topped the timesheets in the second session of the FIA World Touring Car Championship JVCKENWOOD Race of Hungary with a time of 2m03.646s.

The session was run on a wet track after a deluge of rain between the two practice sessions, but Michelisz was still able to set the fastest time in his Castrol Honda. The home-hero was recovering from a disappointing first session in which he was placed 15th after an oil pressure issue.

Michelisz was ahead of team-mate Tiago Monteiro, with Yann Ehrlacher in his RC Motorsport Lada ending the session in third place.

The session was interrupted by Aurelien Panis, who pulled off the circuit with a suspected brake problem and caused a red flag at the mid-way point.

After the restart, Rob Huff was fourth in his Citroën, with Ryo Michigami and Nicky Catsburg behind him in fifth and sixth respectively.

Catsburg then pulled his Volvo Polestar off the circuit with just 90 seconds of the session left having run out of fuel, bringing proceedings to an early close with another red flag.

Tom Chilton and Mehdi Bennani were seventh and eighth, ahead of Daniel Nagy in his Zengo Motorsport Honda. Nestor Girolami completed the top ten.