Sergey Afanasyev pipped TCR newcomer Pierre-Yves Corthals to top the opening practice session for the TCR International Series at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Russian ending up half a second ahead of the competition.
Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Pepe Oriola was the first to post a representative time in the half-hour session, with the Spaniard’s early time of 2:36.746 not taking long to be beaten by first Afanasyev and then reigning champion Stefano Comini.
Heading into the final ten minutes Jean-Karl Vernay briefly went to the top of the times, giving Leopard Racing a temporary 1-2 in their bright Volkswagen Golf cars.
Oriola and Corthals then traded the top times in the final ten minutes, with the experienced Belgian touring car driver posting a time of 2:35.480 to go fastest, despite racing an older-specification SEAT León Cup Racer, as opposed to a newer TCR-spec, car.
As the chequered flag flew, Afanasyev then put his SEAT on top of the times with a lap of 2:34.914 to go 0.566 seconds faster than the Belgian.
Comini headed up the Leopard Volkswagen cars in third, with Oriola separating the team-mates in fourth, leaving Vernay in fifth.
Dušan Borković was sixth fastest, with the Serb racer haven taken his time to get up to speed in the session, having gradually improved in the second half.
Aku Pellinen was the leading Honda driver in seventh in a difficult session for the WestCoast Racing drivers, with neither Kevin Gleason nor championship leader Gianni Morbidelli featuring in the top ten times.
Craft-Bamboo Racing’s James Nash, B3 Racing’s Attila Tassi and Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Jimmy Clairet completed the top ten, with the latter being 2.410 seconds off the pace on the first appearance of the Peugeot 308 racer in the TCR Series.
Grégory Guilvert in the second Peugeot ended the session 15th fastest in a session which saw the 308 racers encouragingly close to the pace.
Loris Hezemans, who has switched to local outfit Ferry Monster Autosport for this weekend, was the only driver who failed to post a competitive time in the session.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 77 | Sergey AFANASYEV |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 9 | 2:34.914 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 49 | Pierre-Yves CORTHALS |  |
Ferry Monster Autosport | SEAT León Cup Racer | 10 | 2:35.480 | 0.566 |
| 3 | 1 | Stefano COMINI |  |
Leopard Racing | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 10 | 2:35.814 | 0.900 |
| 4 | 74 | Pepe ORIOLA |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 10 | 2:36.071 | 1.157 |
| 5 | 2 | Jean-Karl VERNAY |  |
Leopard Racing | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 9 | 2:36.213 | 1.299 |
| 6 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 10 | 2:36.269 | 1.355 |
| 7 | 14 | Aku PELLINEN |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 10 | 2:36.324 | 1.410 |
| 8 | 54 | James NASH |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León TCR | 9 | 2:36.393 | 1.479 |
| 9 | 9 | Attila TASSI |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 9 | 2:36.835 | 1.921 |
| 10 | 30 | Jimmy CLAIRET | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Peugeot 308 Racing Cup | 10 | 2:37.324 | 2.410 |
| 11 | 70 | Mat’o HOMOLA |  |
B3 Racing Team Hungary | SEAT León TCR | 10 | 2:37.384 | 2.470 |
| 12 | 24 | Kevin GLEASON |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 10 | 2:37.423 | 2.509 |
| 13 | 48 | Antti BURI | |
Team WRT | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 9 | 2:37.573 | 2.659 |
| 14 | 8 | Mikhail GRACHEV | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 10 | 2:38.026 | 3.112 |
| 15 | 38 | Grégory GUILVERT | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Peugeot 308 Racing Cup | 9 | 2:38.158 | 3.244 |
| 16 | 10 | Gianni MORBIDELLI |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 8 | 2:38.870 | 3.956 |
| 17 | 7 | Davit KAJAIA |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR | 8 | 2:39.024 | 4.110 |
| 18 | 50 | Loris HEZEMANS |  |
Ferry Monster Autosport | SEAT León TCR | 0 | No time | N/A |