Tiago Monteiro left it late to clock the fastest time in Free Practice 1 for FIA WTCC Race of Morocco.
Driving a Honda Civic WTCC, Monteiro set his session-topping best lap in the closing moments of the session to deny factory team-mate Norbert Michelisz by a slender 0.003s.
It continues a strong start to the Marrakech weekend for the works Honda squad following Rob Huff’s testing best on Friday as drivers acclimatise to the new-look 2.971-kilometre Circuit Moulay El Hassan, which is being used for the first time this weekend following a major overhaul.
World champion José María López was third fastest for Citroën with Huff fourth and Thed Björk fifth and the leading Volvo-Polestar driver.
Nicky Catsburg was the fastest LADA runner in sixth followed by team-mate Hugo Valente.
Home hero Mehdi Bennani was the quickest WTCC Trophy contender in eighth with Tom Coronel and Gabriele Tarquini completing the top 10.
The WTCC drivers will be back on track at 11h30 local time for Free Practice 2.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:22.081 |
| 2 | Norbert Michelisz | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:22.084 |
| 3 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:22.458 |
| 4 | Rob Huff | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:22.461 |
| 5 | Thed Bjork | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | 1:22.711 |
| 6 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:23.084 |
| 7 | Hugo Valente | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:23.158 |
| 8 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:23.179 |
| 9 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:23.282 |
| 10 | Gabriele Tarquini | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:23.286 |
| 11 | Fredrik Ekblom | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | 1:23.353 |
| 12 | Tom Chilton | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:23.428 |
| 13 | James Thompson | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:23.487 |
| 14 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:23.502 |
| 15 | Grégoire Demoustier | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:24.629 |
| 16 | Ferenc Ficza | Zengo | Honda | 1:25.035 |
| 17 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:25.556 |