Rob Huff heads first TCR World Tour private test

Rob Huff topped the combined times from the first TCR World Tour private test sessions at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal, putting his Audi on top by just 0.009 seconds.

Huff, a new signing for Comtoyou Racing, went fastest in the first session of the afternoon, lapping the Portimão circuit in 1 minute 51.307 seconds.

Reigning FIA WTCR champion Mikel Azcona was second, less than a tenth behind, ahead of BRC Hyundai team-mate Norbert Michelisz in third.

The World Tour entries locked out the top four places, with tin-top returnee Frédéric Vervisch putting his Audi in fourth, just under three seconds adrift of team-mate Huff.

Comtoyou’s Kobe Pauwels was the leading TCR Europe entry in fifth, the rookie being just under half a second off the pace, ahead of team-mate John Filippi in sixth and touring car veteran Tom Coronel in seventh.

Néstor Girolami gave his completely new Honda Civic a good showing with the eighth fastest time.

Lynk & Co drivers completed the top ten – first was MA:GP’s Viktor Andersson in the older-specification car, ahead of Ma Qing Hua in the Cyan Racing-run facelifted variant in tenth, 0.860 seconds off the pace.

Most drivers set their best times in the first session, although Andersson was one of a small number to actually go quicker later in the day.

Although not on the official entry list, Pepe Oriola took part in both sessions in an RC2 Racing Team-run Audi, the Spaniard ending the day with the 19^th fastest time.

The on-track running continues on Friday with two further practice sessions, ahead of qualifying and race one on Saturday.

Combined session results

POS	NO	NAT	DRIVER	ENTRANT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	GAP
1	176		Rob HUFF	Audi Sport Team Comtoyou	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	47	1:51.307	–
2	196		Mikel AZCONA	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	40	1:51.316	0.009
3	105		Norbert MICHELISZ	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	44	1:51.449	0.142
4	122		Frédéric VERVISCH	Audi Sport Team Comtoyou	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	49	1:51.581	0.274
5	22		Kobe PAUWELS	Comtoyou Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	49	1:51.781	0.474
6	27		John FILIPPI	Comtoyou Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	42	1:51.968	0.661
7	34		Tom CORONEL	Comtoyou Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	34	1:51.979	0.672
8	129		Néstor GIROLAMI	ALM Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR	45	1:51.982	0.675
9	10		Viktor ANDERSSON	MA:GP	Lynk & Co 03 TCR	42	1:52.102	0.795
10	155		MA Qing Hua	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR	51	1:52.167	0.860
11	11		Viktor DAVIDOVSKI	Comtoyou Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	47	1:52.227	0.920
12	8		Nicola BALDAN	Aggressive Team Italia	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	44	1:52.373	1.066
13	111		Thed BJÖRK	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR	44	1:52.389	1.082
14	168		Yann EHRLACHER	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR	47	1:52.416	1.109
15	112		Santiago URRUTIA	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR	46	1:52.542	1.235
16	62		Dušan BORKOVIĆ	Target Competition	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	46	1:52.807	1.500
17	19		Felipe FERNÁNDEZ Gil	RC2 Racing Team	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	38	1:52.832	1.525
18	39		Lewis BROWN	Volcano Motorsport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	44	1:52.915	1.608
19	41		Pepe ORIOLA	RC2 Racing Team	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	23	1:53.013	1.706
20	12		Rubén FERNÁNDEZ Gil	RC2 Racing Team	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	20	1:53.359	2.052
21	23		Isaac SMITH	Volcano Motorsport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR II	47	1:53.463	2.156
22	71		Ben BARGWANNA	Team Clairet Sport – Burson Auto Parts Racing	Peugeot 308 TCR	47	1:53.501	2.194
23	48		Mikael KARLSSON	Aggressive Team Italia	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	35	1:53.824	2.517