The first Qualifying session of the WTCR at Zandvoort turned into a Lynk&Co festival as the four Cyan Racing cars filled the top spots of the timesheet, leaving the rest of the field seven tenths behind.
Thed Björk set a provisional fastest lap of 1:44.296, he was then momentarily ousted by Andy Priaulx’s 1:44.196, but eventually jumped on top again clocking a lap of 1:44.080, while Yvan Muller moved up into second place (1:44.153) and Yann Ehrlacher qualified in fourth position.
The session was red-flagged for good 90 seconds before the end when Tiago Monteiro’s Honda went off and got stranded in the gravel.
Mikel Azcona was the best of the rest in fifth place, followed by the Volkswagen pair of Benjamin Leuchter and Johan Kristoffersson.
Jean-Karl Vernay (9th), Nicky Catsburg (11th) and Néstor Girolami (14th) were the best drivers for Audi, Hyundai and Honda respectively. Competition was close behind the Lynk&Co quartet as only five tenths covered the positions from fifth to 21st (Tom Coronel). While the Alfa Romeo cars struggled at the bottom of the timesheet.
Race 1 will start at Sunday at 14:35 local time.
Practice 1
- 1:44.080 – Thed Björk (Cyan Racing, Lynk&Co 03)
- 1:44.153 – Yvan Muller (Cyan Racing, Lynk&Co 03)
- 1:44.196 – Andy Priaulx (Cyan Performance, Lynk&Co 03)
- 1:44.313 – Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing, Lynk&Co 03)
- 1:44.810 – Mikel Azcona (PWR Racing, CUPRA)
Championship points
- Néstor Girolami 100
- Esteban Guerrieri 90
- Thed Björk 86