RML’s Yvan Muller set the pace in this morning’s first free practice session for the World Touring Car Championship at the Salzburgring, posting a time 0.401 seconds faster than team-mate Tom Chilton.
Click here for the full first practice times.
Alex MacDowall finished the session in third, ensuring the top times were locked out by Chevrolet drivers.
Rob Huff, who will be providing live in-car commentary for Eurosport this weekend, ended the session in fourth, 0.527 seconds slower than Muller’s time of 1:26.279.
Norbert Michelisz was the top Honda driver in fifth, whilst the works JAS-prepared Honda’s of Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro ended the session in 11th and 14th.
James Nash was sixth after a late fast lap, ahead of Pepe Oriola, Michel Nykjær and Tom Coronel, who ended the session as the top BMW driver in ninth.
LADA’s James Thompson finished the session in tenth, just under a second off the pace, whilst his team-mate Mikhail Kozlovskiy was 21st.
Several drivers had to take to the escape road at the turn one chicane during the session, with Huff, Coronel and Monteiro all pushing the limits under braking. There were also two spins for René Münnich, whilst Stefano D’Aste also found himself on the grass after running wide at the Ostschleife.
Darryl O’Young failed to set a time during the 30-minute session after he suffered a turob failure on his ROAL Motorsport BMW.
Second practice takes place at 11:45 CEST (10:45 BST).