Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver Santiago Urrutia led the way in both of the two free practice sessions at the Zhuzhou International Circuit, the first dry, the other held after a short thunderstorm had soaked the track.
The Uruguayan was just 36-thousandths of a second faster than team-mate Ma Qing Hua in the first 30-minute session, with Yann Ehrlacher just three-tenths behind making it a Cyan Racing top three. The fourth fastest driver was local racer Martin Xie Xin Zhe in the MacPro Racing Team Honda Civic, within half a second of Urrutia’s time, with the returning Rob Huff fifth fastest in the Volcano Motorsport Audi.
Of the chief World Tour protagonists, Norbert Michelisz was 12th quickest in his Hyundai Elantra N, while Esteban Guerrieri was tenth fastest in his Honda, and Thed Björk sixth in the Lynk & Co.
In the wet second practice session, Urrutia set a benchmark early-on which was never bettered in the 30-minute session, though some late improvements saw some changes in the order behind him. With last-minute flyers, Urrrutia was joined in an all-Cyan Racing top four, with Ehrlacher second, Ma third, and Björk fourth. Néstor Girolami was the best of the Hyundai cars in fifth, with Guerrieri’s GOAT Racing Honda right behind him in sixth. The best-placed of the TCR China field was 2022 champion David Zhu Dai Wei, whose Teamwork Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 finished the session tenth quickest, 1.7 seconds off the pace.
The next session is qualifying on Saturday at 10:00am local time / 04:00 CEST.
Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport
