Photo: WTCC Media

Rob Huff tops disrupted test session at Macau

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Chevrolet’s Rob Huff topped the times in the Thursday test session at Macau, beating Championship rival Yvan Muller in the final moments of the session, with Darryl O’Young making it a Chevrolet 1-2-3.

The session was delayed by 30 minutes after repairs to the track were required after the preceeding CTM Macau Cup Free Practice session. When the session got underway, the track was very wet with the first laps well into the 2:50s, over 20 seconds down on last year’s front running pace.

Charles Ng brought out the red flag after sustaining front-left damage in his DeTeam Engstler Motorsport BMW 320 TC after going off at Melco. The Hong Kong driver tried to bring the car back to the pits, but hit the wall at Black Sands and with the car in a dangerous position, the red flag was flown after 10 minutes.

The track dried out during the break, with Alain Menu wasting no time in going out to set the fastest time, now down into the 2:42s. On his second lap, Menu improved to a 2:38 – but it was the SUNRED León of Tiago Monteiro who looked set to be the main threat to Chevrolet, jumping to the top of the timing sheets and was on an even quicker lap at the end of the session before he encountered the waved yellow flags at Police where team-mate Michel Nykjaer had crashed out.

Rob Huff was just behind the Danish driver as he went off, with Huff going on to set the fastest lap of all with a 2:34.681. Yvan Muller would end up second in the session ahead of the sole Bamboo Engineering Chevrolet Cruze of Darryl O’Young – who was also the fastest independent driver.

Tiago Monteiro wound up fourth fastest and the top of the SUNRED drivers, with Alain Menu fifth and Franz Engstler the fastest of the BMWs in sixth, almost four seconds adrift as the changing conditions affected the timings.

Charles Ng never set a competitive lap after his crash on his first run, and technical issues for Macanese drivers’ Kuok lo Keong in the Corsa Motorsport Chevrolet Lacetti and André Couto in the SUNRED León saw the two setting no times in the 30 minute session.

The next session is Free Practice 1, which takes place on Friday at 8:30 local time.