Rob Huff posted the fastest time in second practice for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Russia, putting his LADA Vesta on top of the times at the manufacturer’s home circuit.
Huff rose to the top of the times with just a minute and a half of the session remaining, going just 0.043 seconds faster than Citroën’s Yvan Muller. Huff’s time was around two tenths of a second faster than the best lap in first practice, as the Brit admitted to having used a set of new tyres.
Championship leader José María López was third fastest, ahead of ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton, who put in a couple of fast laps late in the session to improve his position from outside the top ten.
Mehdi Bennani was fifth fastest for Sébastien Loeb Racing, improving his time by over a second from first practice. Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente was sixth quickest, having posted his time around the half-way stage in the half hour session.
WTCC newcomer Nicky Catsburg was seventh fastest in his LADA, ahead of the top Honda of Rickard Rydell in eighth, with the Swede being 0.797 seconds off the pace.
Citroën’s Ma Qing Hua and Honda’s Gabriele Tarquini completed the top ten, with the latter seven tenths slower than his pace-setting time in first practice.
Sébastien Loeb was 11th quickest, more than a second off the pace, ahead of Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz, who had to reverse out of the gravel with around eight minutes to go, having skated off the circuit in sector two.
Qualifying takes place at 13:30 local time (11:30 BST, 12:30 CEST).
Session results
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 12 | Rob HUFF |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 15 | 1:38.853 | 0.000 | |
| 2 | 68 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 1:38.896 | 0.043 | |
| 3 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 10 | 1:39.226 | 0.373 | |
| 4 | 3 | Y | Tom CHILTON | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 1:39.254 | 0.401 |
| 5 | 25 | Y | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 13 | 1:39.396 | 0.543 |
| 6 | 7 | Y | Hugo VALENTE | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 1:39.483 | 0.630 |
| 7 | 10 | Nick CATSBURG |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 13 | 1:39.623 | 0.770 | |
| 8 | 19 | Rickard RYDELL |  |
Nika International | Honda Civic WTCC | 13 | 1:39.650 | 0.797 | |
| 9 | 33 | MA Qing Hua |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 13 | 1:39.728 | 0.875 | |
| 10 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 14 | 1:39.792 | 0.939 | |
| 11 | 9 | Sébastien LOEB | |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 1:39.912 | 1.059 | |
| 12 | 5 | Y | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 1:40.008 | 1.155 |
| 13 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 1:40.024 | 1.171 | |
| 14 | 27 | Y | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 10 | 1:40.369 | 1.516 |
| 15 | 46 | Jaap VAN LAGEN | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 13 | 1:40.392 | 1.539 | |
| 16 | 4 | Y | Tom CORONEL | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 1:40.437 | 1.584 |
| 17 | 26 | Y | Stefano D’ASTE | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 1:40.961 | 2.108 |
| 18 | 11 | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 1:41.273 | 2.420 |