Cyan Racing’s Yann Ehrlacher set the early pace in the first FIA TCR World Tour practice session on the streets of Vila Real, lapping in 2 minutes 0.256 seconds, over seven tenths ahead of his nearest rival.
The Frenchman was quick out of the blocks, topping the times early on with an effort of 2:01.696 before improving to a 2:00.256, a time which was around three quarters of a second slower than the qualifying lap record of 1:59.498 posted in 2019.
GOAT Racing’s Esteban Guerrieri was second as the top Honda, improving late in the session to break into the top ten.
The Cyan Racing cars were all strong on the street circuit, with Thed Björk in third, Santiago Urrutia in fourth and Ma Qing Hua in fifth, the only other drivers within a second of the pace.
Norbert Michelisz was the leading BRC Racing Hyundai driver in sixth, 1.282 seconds off the pace, directly ahead of team-mate Mikel Azcona in seventh.
Series returnee Dušan Borković put his Honda in eighth, whilst the top ten was completed by SP Compétition’s Aurélien Comte and BRC’s Néstor Girolami.
Second practice gets underway at 12:40 WEST (12:40 BST).
Session results
| POS | NO | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 168 |  |
Yann EHRLACHER | Lynk & Co Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 11 | 2:00.256 | – |
| 2 | 186 |  |
Esteban GUERRIERI | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 10 | 2:00.970 | 0.714 |
| 3 | 111 |  |
Thed BJÖRK | Lynk & Co Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 11 | 2:01.142 | 0.886 |
| 4 | 112 |  |
Santiago URRUTIA | Lynk & Co Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 12 | 2:01.171 | 0.915 |
| 5 | 155 |  |
MA Qing Hua | Lynk & Co Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 12 | 2:01.248 | 0.992 |
| 6 | 105 |  |
Norbert MICHELISZ | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 11 | 2:01.538 | 1.282 |
| 7 | 196 |  |
Mikel AZCONA | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 6 | 2:01.759 | 1.503 |
| 8 | 62 |  |
Dušan BORKOVIĆ | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 10 | 2:03.166 | 2.910 |
| 9 | 107 | |
Aurélien COMTE | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 10 | 2:03.478 | 3.222 |
| 10 | 129 | |
Néstor GIROLAMI | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 9 | 2:03.717 | 3.461 |
| 11 | 77 |  |
Manuel FERNANDES JR | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 8 | 2:03.769 | 3.513 |
| 12 | 123 | |
Ignacio MONTENEGRO | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 11 | 2:03.776 | 3.520 |
| 13 | 59 | |
Daniel TEIXEIRA | JT59 Racing Team | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 9 | 2:04.705 | 4.449 |
| 14 | 11 |  |
Marco BUTTI | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 11 | 2:06.049 | 5.793 |
| 15 | 10 | |
Viktor ANDERSSON | MA:GP | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 11 | 2:06.546 | 6.290 |
| 16 | 14 |  |
Michel FERNANDES | J. Santos Competição | Peugeot 308 TCR | 9 | 2:15.028 | 14.772 |
| 17 | 127 | |
John FILIPPI | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 0 | No time | N/A |