Thed Björk leads a Hyundai 1-2-3 in qualifying for the first WTCR race in Morocco
Thed Björk was fastest in qualifying in his Yvan Muller Racing-run Hyundai i30 N TCR, with the reigning WTCC champion just over a tenth of a second faster than BRC’s Norbert Michelisz, though the Hungarian may pick up an engine change penalty.
With the rain having given way to the sunshine, the session was fast-paced, with the lap times rapidly dropping, with Michelisz the pace-setter at the mid-way point of the session despite missing the second practice with an electrical problem.
Just after setting a time of 1:24.834, the first under the 1:25 mark, Michelisz’s engine went bang and dropped oil over the racing line, causing the red flag to be deployed.
When the session resumed, the cement dust placed over the oil slick slowed most opportunities for improvement, although there were a few that were able to go faster, most notably Thed Björk, who managed to go a tenth of a second faster than Michelisz’s time.
Gabriele Tarquini was third fastest in his BRC Hyundai, ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay in the WRT Audi RS 3 LMS, with Rob Huff fifth fastest in the Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen.
John Filippi was the quickest of the Cupras in sixth, with Esteban Guerrieri the best-placed Honda driver in seventh.
The fastest Peugeot was that of Aurélien Comte in 12th, 1.2 seconds off the pace, with Fabrizio Giovanardi the fastest Alfa Romeo, down in 21st, 1.7 seconds slower than Björk.
The first race is scheduled for 17:00 WEST (18:00 CET).
