Rob Huff led a Honda 1-2-3 in first practice for the World Touring Car Championship on the streets of Vila Real in Portugal, with a late lap putting him ahead of team-mates Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro.
Huff, who was the last across the line just before the chequered flag came out, posted a time of 1:56.941 to end the half-hour session 0.247 seconds ahead of his Hungarian team-mate, with the Brit later adding that he felt that whoever crossed the line last would end up fastest.
Runaway championship leader José María López was the best of the Citroën drivers in fourth, almost one and a half seconds off the pace.
LADA’s Hugo Valente was an impressive fifth, separating the two works’ Citroëns and leaving Yvan Muller in sixth. Valente was over a second faster than his next-best team-mate, Nicky Catsburg in tenth, whilst Gabriele Tarquini could only manage 15th around the street circuit.
Cyan Racing’s Thed Björk was the best of the Volvo drivers in seventh, with his team-mate, series returnee Robert Dahlgren, ending the session in 13th position.
Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Tom Chilton was the best of the independent racers in eighth, putting his own C-Elysée 2.3 seconds off the pace of the leading Hondas.
Zengő Motorsport completed their preparation of Dániel Nagy’s car during the session, although the young Hungarian was only able to complete a pair of laps, having earlier been held back from starting the session due to a throttle sensor problem on his independent Honda Civic.
Second practice takes place at 11:00 WEST / BST.
Session results
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 12 | Rob HUFF |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 13 | 1:56.941 | 0.000 | |
| 2 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 1:57.188 | 0.247 | |
| 3 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 1:57.405 | 0.464 | |
| 4 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 12 | 1:58.436 | 1.495 | |
| 5 | 7 | Hugo VALENTE |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 10 | 1:58.507 | 1.566 | |
| 6 | 68 | Yvan MULLER | |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 13 | 1:58.639 | 1.698 | |
| 7 | 62 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 10 | 1:59.103 | 2.162 | |
| 8 | 3 | T | Tom CHILTON | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 10 | 1:59.330 | 2.389 |
| 9 | 25 | T | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 11 | 1:59.427 | 2.486 |
| 10 | 10 | Nicky CATSBURG |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 11 | 1:59.651 | 2.710 | |
| 11 | 9 | T | Tom CORONEL | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 2:00.305 | 3.364 |
| 12 | 27 | T | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 11 | 2:00.415 | 3.474 |
| 13 | 63 | Robert DAHLGREN | |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 WTCC | 12 | 2:00.488 | 3.547 | |
| 14 | 15 | T | James THOMPSON | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 10 | 2:00.623 | 3.682 |
| 15 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 10 | 2:00.680 | 3.739 | |
| 16 | 55 | T | Ferenc FICZA | |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 11 | 2:01.942 | 5.001 |
| 17 | 11 | T | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 13 | 2:02.183 | 5.242 |
| 18 | 99 | T | Dániel NAGY | |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 2 | No time | N/A |