Marrakech - FP1: Tarquini sets the pace

Gabriele Tarquini and his Lukoil Racing SEAT León posted the fastest lap during this morning’s first practice at Marrakech.

In the second part of the 30-minute session the Italian driver improved his pace; first he completed a lap in 1:46.013 that placed him second behind Rob Huff’s 1:45.496 and then moved the mark forward to 1:45.165. A time that no one was able to match.

Huff’s attempt to answer Tarquini was nullified by a mistake at Turn 10, when the Briton was forced to cut the chicane after outbraking two other cars and… himself. This while his Chevrolet team-mate Yvan Muller was timed at 1:45.206 and moved up to second, demoting Huff to third.

Tom Chilton and his Team Aon Ford Focus continued to impress. After setting the second fastest time in yesterday’s test, Chilton ranked fourth today, with a lap of 1:45.718, half-a-second off Tarquini’s best time.

Franz Engstler topped the Yokohama Trophy – and also the BMW patrol – with a lap of 1:46.357 that was good enough for fifth place overall.

Stefano D’Aste (1:46.429), Tom Coronel (1:46.443), Pepe Oriola (1:46.672), Mehdi Bennani (1:46.719) and Tiago Monteiro (1:46.868) rounded up the top-ten.

As all drivers began to push, a few of them committed mistakes. Alain Menu, Isaac Tutumlu, James Nash and D’Aste imitated Huff in cutting chicanes, and the Italian was warned by the black-and-white flag.

Alex MacDowall, Darryl O’Young and Huff survived spins in different corners, while Coronel missed the braking point at T4 and stopped in the run-off area.