Tarquini, who was also quickest in Friday testing, took 1m39.036s to lap the 3.931-kilometre Moscow Raceway in his Honda Civic WTCC. Yvan Muller and Sébastien Loeb were third and fourth fastest for Citroën with Tiago Monteiro fifth in his Honda.
“The car likes the track, especially my car since yesterday it has been very good,” said Italian Tarquini, who won the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2009. “I don’t know if it’s me or the car but the characteristics of the car mixes very well with the characteristics of the track where the top speed is not so important. We are still optimistic but unfortunately this is not qualifying and we know everyone will improve for qualifying when they get into qualifying mode.”
Rob Huff was the leading LADA runner in sixth, one place ahead of Hugo Valente, who was the fastest of the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contenders in his Chevrolet Cruze.
Free Practice 1 marked Rickard Rydell’s long-awaited return to WTCC action following the Swede’s enforced absence because of illness. After missing Friday testing due to delays his Honda Racing team Sweden suffered clearing customs, Rydell belied his absence of track knowledge and recent competitive running to set the 13th fastest time.
Up next for the WTCC drivers is Free Practice 2 from 11h00 local time.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:39.036 |
| 2 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.185 |
| 3 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.194 |
| 4 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.559 |
| 5 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:39.722 |
| 6 | Robert Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:39.740 |
| 7 | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:39.977 |
| 8 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:39.983 |
| 9 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 1:40.011 |
| 10 | Ma Qing Hua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:40.214 |
| 11 | Jaap Van Lagen | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:40.332 |
| 12 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:40.542 |
| 13 | Rickard Rydell | Nika International | Honda | 1:40.647 |
| 14 | Stefano D’Aste | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:40.713 |
| 15 | Grégoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1:40.816 |
| 16 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:40.868 |
| 17 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:40.986 |
| 18 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:41.625 |