fastest three times clocked during the first practice session came from SEAT Sport. Yvan Muller’s best time of 1:44.811 came with one minute remaining. He went 0.252 and 0.578 of a second faster than team-mates Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini respectively. Tom Coronel from SUNRED Engineering clocked the next best time and the headed the Independent category with a 1:45.413.

Chevrolet’s Nicola Larini set the fifth best time overall (1:45.460) followed by Alessandro Zanardi’s 1:45.493 for BMW Team Italy-Spain. Spaniard Jordi Gené drove his SEAT León TDI around the track in 1:45.505 while fellow countrymen Sergio Hernández and Félix Porteiro were 12th and 17th fastest overall. LADA Sport Dutchman Jaap van Lagen achieved a lap in 1:46.378 which placed him 16th on the timesheet.

Throughout the session the competitors pushed their cars to the limits and made the most of the track. While there were some slides and a few cars venturing into the gravel trap, all finished the practice session without incident.