Portimao - FP1: Tarquini is impressive

From the very beginning of track action in Portugal, Gabriele Tarquini made clear he will be a serious contender in tomorrow’s races.

The Italian driver and his SEAT León car emerged clearly as the fastest combination during this morning’s first practice session.After Alain Menu had posted a provisional fastest time of 1:56.318, it was Yvan Muller who moved the mark forward, jumping on top with a lap of 1:55.141.

However, midway through the session, Tarquini’s show began. A first lap of 1:55.060 placed the Italian on top of the time sheet. Muller responded with a 1:55.070, and yet this was not enough to oust Tarquini from the first place.

Towards the end of the session Tarquini was able to increase his pace further and completed two consecutive laps in 1:54.765 and 1:54.572, beating Muller by half-a-second and leaving the rest of the field more than one second behind.

Menu (1:55.659) and Huff (1:55.989) were classified third and fourth, with Norbert Michelisz (1:57.358) in fifth and best of the Yokohama Trophy.

James Nash’s Ford Focus (1:56.360) and James Thompson’s LADA Granta (1:56.446) made the top-ten, in eight and tenth position respectively.