Gabriele Tarquini has gone fastest in testing for ROSNEFT WTCC Race of Russia.
The winner of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2009 lapped the 3.391-kilometre Moscow Raceway in a fastest time of 1m38.460s at the wheel of his Honda Civic WTCC.
Yvan Muller was second fastest for Citroën, 0.043s slower than Tarquini, with Tiago Monteiro third in the second works Honda.
Championship leader José María López was fourth quickest with last year’s race two winner Ma Qing Hua fifth fastest. Rob Huff was the leading LADA driver in seventh with Norbert Michelisz the fastest Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender in eighth.
Nicky Catsburg marked his WTCC debut with the 13th fastest time in his LADA Sport ROSNEFT Vesta.
Despite the Moscow Raceway basking in glorious sunshine, there were drops of rain at some sections of the track.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:38.460 |
| 2 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:38.503 |
| 3 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:38.965 |
| 4 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.217 |
| 5 | Ma Qing Hua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.265 |
| 6 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:39.315 |
| 7 | Robert Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:39.409 |
| 8 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 1:39.494 |
| 9 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:39.532 |
| 10 | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:39.692 |
| 11 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:39.874 |
| 12 | Jaap Van Lagen | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:39.590 |
| 13 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:40.113 |
| 14 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:40.852 |
| 15 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:40.932 |
| 16 | Stefano D’Aste | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:41.229 |
| 17 | Grégoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1:42.108 |