Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz was the fastest driver in morning warm-up at the Slovakiaring, whilst RML’s Tom Chilton crashed his Chevrolet Cruze at turn two.
Click here for the full warm-up times.
During the short fifteen-minute session Michelisz posted a time of 2:11.o35 to go more than half a second quicker than second-placed Pepe Oriola.
Brits Rob Huff and James Thompson were third and fourth in their SEAT and LADA’s, ahead of the two works Honda’s of Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini.
Tom Chilton crashed his Chevrolet on the exit of turn two after losing control of the rear of his car on the run-off, pitching him into the tyre barrier on the exit. With almost six hours until the first race, however, his RML team have plenty of time to carry out repair work on his car.
“It just caught me out – it’s a fast corner in sixth gear,” said Chilton. “Just as I popped back it kicked the rear-steer out really quickly in the other direction. It’s the first time I’ve run the full rear steer in the dry and it took me by surprise. The car’s got a lot of work to be done – it’s quite damaged. It’s quite a big shunt – something you don’t want in the warm-up.”
Tom Coronel was the top BMW driver in seventh, ahead of Yvan Muller, Michel Nykjær and Mehdi Bennani.
Chilton wasn’t the only driver to explore the limits of turn two, however, as René Münnich ran wide and almost hit the same tyre wall. Instead the Münnich Motorsport driver steered clear of the barriers, losing his front bumper in the process.
Tom Boardman, now running his fourth engine of the weekend, failed to set a competitive time as he shook down the new unit.
Round 5 takes place at 14:50 CEST (13:50 GMT).