Münnich Motorsport’s Néstor Girolami topped the times in the first practice session for the FIA World Touring Car Cup at the Hungaroring, with a fast lap in the final seconds to deny Cyan Racing’s Santiago Urrutia.
Girolami had topped the times early on in the 45-minute session, before he was deposed initially by Mikel Azcona after ten minutes, and then Nathanaël Berthon, after Azcona’s time was disallowed.
Comtoyou Racing’s Berthon then held the fastest lap for around ten minutes, until Zengő Motorsport’s Azcona went fastest with a lap of 1 minute 53.137 seconds.
Urrutia put his Lynk & Co at the head of the timesheets as the pace improved with 15 minutes to go, the Uruguayan lapping in 1:53.121, which he held for much of the remainder.
But after the chequered flag was waved Girolami – a double winner at the circuit in 2019 – pipped his fellow South American with a time of 1:52.995, just over a tenth of a second faster.
Girolami did so despite the Honda Civic being the heaviest car in the field this weekend, thanks to a combination of compensation weight and Balance of Performance measures.
Urrutia held second as the best Lynk & Co driver, with Azcona putting in an encouraging performance in third as the best of the CUPRA drivers, with his car being the lightest in the field in Hungary.
Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher put his Lynk & Co in fourth, just ahead of Berthon’s Audi in fifth.
Gilles Magnus was directly behind his team-mate in sixth, with Thed Björk, buoyed by a podium last time out in Spain, putting his Lynk & Co in seventh.
The top ten was completed by the CUPRa of Rob Huff, the Honda of top Hungarian Attila Tassi and the Audi of Frédéric Vervisch.
The session, held in hot and sunny conditions, was without incident as the whole field worked on set-ups for the weekend.
Wildcard entry Nicola Baldan, racing a third Target Competition-run Hyundai Elantra this weekend, was 22nd fastest, some 2.6 seconds off the pace.
Second practice is scheduled to get underway at 11:30 BST (12:30 CEST).
Session results
| POS | NO | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 29 |  |
Néstor GIROLAMI | ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 17 | 1:52.995 | – |
| 2 | 12 |  |
Santiago URRUTIA | Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 16 | 1:53.121 | 0.126 |
| 3 | 96 |  |
Mikel AZCONA | Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 19 | 1:53.137 | 0.142 |
| 4 | 68 |  |
Yann EHRLACHER | Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 15 | 1:53.157 | 0.162 |
| 5 | 17 | |
Nathanaël BERTHON | Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 14 | 1:53.167 | 0.172 |
| 6 | 16 |  |
Gilles MAGNUS | Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 17 | 1:53.223 | 0.228 |
| 7 | 11 |  |
Thed BJÖRK | Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 17 | 1:53.357 | 0.362 |
| 8 | 79 |  |
Rob HUFF | Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 20 | 1:53.368 | 0.373 |
| 9 | 9 |  |
Attila TASSI | ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 15 | 1:53.451 | 0.456 |
| 10 | 22 | |
Frédéric VERVISCH | Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 17 | 1:53.494 | 0.499 |
| 11 | 28 | |
Jordi GENÉ | Zengő Motorsport Drivers’ Academy | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 17 | 1:53.500 | 0.505 |
| 12 | 18 |  |
Tiago MONTEIRO | ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 15 | 1:53.636 | 0.641 |
| 13 | 69 | |
Jean-Karl VERNAY | Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 13 | 1:53.647 | 0.652 |
| 14 | 5 | |
Norbert MICHELISZ | BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 16 | 1:53.647 | 0.652 |
| 15 | 100 | |
Yvan MULLER | Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 16 | 1:53.763 | 0.768 |
| 16 | 3 |  |
Gabriele TARQUINI | BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 18 | 1:53.971 | 0.976 |
| 17 | 8 |  |
Luca ENGSTLER | Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 14 | 1:54.174 | 1.179 |
| 18 | 32 |  |
Tom CORONEL | Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 13 | 1:54.243 | 1.248 |
| 19 | 86 | |
Esteban GUERRIERI | ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR | 17 | 1:54.270 | 1.275 |
| 20 | 19 | |
Andreas BÄCKMAN | Target Competition | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 9 | 1:54.611 | 1.616 |
| 21 | 55 | |
Bence BOLDIZS | Zengő Motorsport Drivers’ Academy | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 12 | 1:55.373 | 2.378 |
| 22 | 82 | |
Nicola BALDAN | Target Competition | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 18 | 1:55.616 | 2.621 |
| 23 | 26 | |
Jessica BÄCKMAN | Target Competition | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 14 | 1:55.991 | 2.996 |