Néstor Girolami leads wet Macau FP1
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Néstor Girolami set the early pace in a rain-affected first practice session for the FIA TCR World Tour finale in Macau.
Girolami worked his way down to a 2:48.761 on a drying track, leading the way by 0.175 over title contender Thed Björk in the quickest Lynk & Co Cyan Racing entry.
The lead duo enjoyed a substantial margin over third-placed Santiago Urrutia, who wound up a full 1.784 off Girolami’s benchmark after surviving a brief scare when clattering the Guia barriers.
Title-contending BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team-mates Mikel Azcona and Norbert Michelisz, who leads the standings heading into the event, were fourth and fifth – separated by just 0.003 of a second around the demanding street course.
Multiple Macau Guia Race winner Rob Huff took sixth in his Volaco Motorsport Audi, with Esteban Guerrieri the leading Honda driver in seventh as he bids for his first world touring car title this weekend. Guerrieri, driving for the new-for-2024 GOAT Racing squad, enters the season-finale sitting second in the standings.
Martin Xie Xin Zhe (MACPRO Racing Team Honda) and Martin Cao (Hyundai N) were the fastest two TCR China runners, placing eighth and ninth overall, with Ma Qing Hua rounding out the top ten for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.
The final title contender, Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co Cyan Racing), endured a challenging first session in the wet and found himself over six seconds off the pace in 15th.
Alongside Urrutia, Hwang Doyun and Zhang Zhen Dong also brushed the walls, while John Filippi and Man Siu Ming spun. All rejoined the session without any major drama.
A second practice session will follow later on Thursday, scheduled for 13:45 local time (06:45 CET). The weather forecast remains unstable, with more rain predicted over the course of the day.
