Shanghai, Tests: WTCC Hondas on top in Shanghai
Norbert Michelisz second
Honda driver Gabriele Tarquini has set the ROSNEFT WTCC Race of China testing pace with fellow Civic racer Norbert Michelisz second and title leader José María López third quickest for Citroën.
Tarquini, in a Honda Civic WTCC, set a fastest time of 1m51.222s with Michelisz fractionally slower on a 1m51.271s. López clocked a personal best of 1m51.333s as less than one second covered the top 12 to underline the competitiveness of the WTCC and the prospect of two action-packed races on Sunday.
Behind fourth-placed Yvan Muller, Nicky Catsburg was the leading LADA driver in fifth followed by Mehdi Benanni and Tom Chilton in a Chevrolet RML Cruze. Rob Huff, local hero Ma Qing Hua and Sébastien Loeb completed the top 10.
The next track activity is Free Practice 1 at 09h10 local time on Saturday.
WTCR
- The race of Marrakech is cancelled, replaced by Salzburg
- Malaysia, Race 3: Kristoffersson takes victory as Michelisz claims title
- Malaysia, Race 2: Guerrieri wins to set-up final-round title decider with Michelisz
- Malaysia, Race 1: Michelisz triumph to extend points lead
- New tracks plus weight rule tweak as WTCR revs up for next three seasons