WTCC: Honda and Monteiro start season on top

Honda's Tiago Monteiro set the pace in the first World Touring Car Championship practice session of the season at Paul Ricard after a late effort in his Civic WTCC.

The most meaningful running at the Le Castellet circuit was completed in the final five minutes after drivers had acclimatized to the damp but drying track conditions. It was the Portuguese who made his last lap count, going fastest after the checkered flag had fallen with a lap of 1m42.565s to usurp Citroen's double champion Jose Maria Lopez by 0.133 seconds.

Gregoire Demoustier completed the top three in his Sebastien Loeb Racing privateer Citroen C-Elysee, just 0.001s slower than Lopez, while Norbert Michelisz was fourth in the second Civic having led for much of the session.

Gabriele Tarquini's earlier lap of 1m42.876s meant that three different manufacturers were represented in the top five, while Rob Huff was sixth, just ahead of compatriot Tom Chilton in the second SLR satellite C-Elysee.

Lada's Nick Catsburg was another late mover as he improved to eighth ahead of Yvan Muller, the Frenchman enjoying a quiet run to the ninth-fastest time, while Polestar's Fredrik Ekblom completed the top 10 in his Volvo S60 Polestar.

Ferenc Ficza completed his first laps in the WTCC for Zengo with four tentative tours, although neither he nor teammate Daniel Nagy will contest either of Sunday's races – meaning just 16 cars will line up for the season opening encounters.

Tom Coronel was also in trouble, completing a solitary lap in his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1.

PRACTICE ONE RESULTS:

Originally on Autosport.com