Reigning champion José María López posted the fastest time in second practice for the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) on the streets of Vila Real in Portugal, ahead of Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb.
López rose to the top of the times after seven minutes of the session, first posting a 2:01.635 to topple then-fastest Loeb. The duo then traded times at the top of the timesheets, before López posted the quickest lap of the half-hour session with around four minutes remaining, 0.274 seconds ahead of Loeb with a lap of 2:00.155, six tenths faster than the morning session’s pace.
Néstor Girolami was an impressive third fastest, using the experience the Argentine has gained in racing on street circuits in South America to end the session as the top Honda driver with a fast lap in the final five minutes.
Citroën’s Ma Qing Hua was fourth, ahead of the works’ Honda of Tiago Monteiro in fifth. First practice pace setter Yvan Muller was sixth, the last driver to be within a second off the pace, 0.592 seconds adrift.
LADA’s Rob Huff was seventh fastest, improving on his first practice pace by over a second. Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani was eighth and the last of the C-Elysée drivers.
Completing the top ten were ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel, the fastest Chevrolet driver, and Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz.
Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Chilton took to the track after their bump in first practice, but the duo struggled for pace and could only manage 13th and 14th quickest in their Honda and Chevrolet cars respectively.
Several drivers were warned for exceeding the track limits, including LADA drivers Nicky Catsburg (15th) and Jaap van Lagen (16th), who both had their best times disallowed for cutting corners.
Qualifying takes place at 15:15 BST (16:15 CEST).
Session results
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 11 | 2:00.155 | 0.000 | |
| 2 | 9 | Sébastien LOEB |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 11 | 2:00.429 | 0.274 | |
| 3 | 29 | Néstor GIROLAMI | |
Nika International | Honda Civic WTCC | 9 | 2:00.434 | 0.279 | |
| 4 | 33 | MA Qing Hua |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 11 | 2:00.574 | 0.419 | |
| 5 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 2:00.675 | 0.520 | |
| 6 | 68 | Yvan MULLER | |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 9 | 2:00.747 | 0.592 | |
| 7 | 12 | Rob HUFF |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 11 | 2:01.339 | 1.184 | |
| 8 | 25 | Y | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 11 | 2:01.412 | 1.257 |
| 9 | 4 | Y | Tom CORONEL |  |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 2:01.455 | 1.300 |
| 10 | 5 | Y | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 7 | 2:01.766 | 1.611 |
| 11 | 26 | Y | Stefano D’ASTE |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 2:01.869 | 1.714 |
| 12 | 7 | Y | Hugo VALENTE | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 9 | 2:01.879 | 1.724 |
| 13 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI | |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 10 | 2:02.912 | 2.757 | |
| 14 | 3 | Y | Tom CHILTON | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 10 | 2:03.146 | 2.991 |
| 15 | 10 | Nick CATSBURG | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 10 | 2:03.194 | 3.039 | |
| 16 | 46 | Jaap VAN LAGEN | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 7 | 2:03.209 | 3.054 | |
| 17 | 27 | Y | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 2:05.045 | 4.890 |
| 18 | 11 | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 12 | 2:05.148 | 4.993 |