Nestor Girolami opens WTCR season with fastest time in FP1

Nestor Girolami ended the opening practice session of the 2020 FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) season quickest for Münnich Motorsport at Circuit Zolder.

The Argentine put his Honda Civic Type R FK8 to the top of the timesheets with a 1:36.450 around the 2.49-mile Belgian venue, edging out championship newcomer and local hero Gilles Magnus’ Comtoyou-run Audi RS 3 LMS by a little over a tenth of a second.

Both cars looked equally strong in this, the first session for the series’ new Goodyear tyre compound, evidenced by Esteban Guerrieri (Münnich) and Nathanael Berthon (Comtoyou)’s respective runs to third and fourth, both cars less than a further tenth back.

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Yvan Muller rounds out the top five in the leading Lynk & Co challenger for Cyan Racing; stablemate Thed Bjork was ninth behind Team Mulsanne’s Jean-Karl Vernay.

Attila Tassi’s seventh-fastest time and Tiago Monteiro’s run to tenth completed a strong session for Münnich, with the Audi and Honda in particular looking well-adjusted to the Zolder circuit in the early running.

Reigning WTCR champion Norbert Michelisz opened his title defence with 11th in the BRC Racing Hyundai i30 N, with Nicky Catsburg’s Englster-run Hyundai just 0.008 seconds further back.

Michelisz’s team mate Gabriele Tarquini – the other WTCR champion in the field – was 16th, yet still within a second of the outright pace as another hotly-contested season begins to take shape.

Britain’s Jack Young started his debut in touring car racing’s international top-tier in 18th for Vukovic Motorsport, the 2019 TCR Europe podium finisher ahead of Mikel Azcona – champion from the same category one year prior – in the Zengo Motorsport-run CUPRA.

The WTCR action continues with Free Practice 2 from Zolder at 08:50 (BST) tomorrow.

Session results

POS	NO	DRIVER	NAT	ENTRANT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	GAP
1	29	Néstor GIROLAMI		ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR	10	1:36.450	0.000
2	16	Gilles MAGNUS		Comtoyou Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	15	1:36.554	0.104
3	86	Esteban GUERRIERI		ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR	16	1:36.589	0.139
4	17	Nathanaël BERTHON		Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	14	1:36.640	0.190
5	100	Yvan MULLER		Cyan Racing	Lynk & Co 03 TCR	10	1:36.678	0.228
6	31	Tom CORONEL		Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	15	1:36.762	0.312
7	9	Attila TASSI		ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR	18	1:36.837	0.387
8	69	Jean-Karl VERNAY		Team Mulsanne	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR	16	1:36.896	0.446
9	11	Thed BJÖRK		Cyan Performance	Lynk & Co 03 TCR	14	1:36.924	0.474
10	18	Tiago MONTEIRO		ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R FK8 TCR	13	1:36.963	0.513
11	1	Norbert MICHELISZ		BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse	Hyundai i30 N TCR	18	1:37.019	0.569
12	88	Nicky CATSBURG		Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team	Hyundai i30 N TCR	15	1:37.027	0.577
13	12	Santiago URRUTIA		Cyan Performance	Lynk & Co 03 TCR	13	1:37.058	0.608
14	25	Luca FILIPPI		Team Mulsanne	Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR	19	1:37.342	0.892
15	68	Yann EHRLACHER		Cyan Racing	Lynk & Co 03 TCR	12	1:37.393	0.943
16	30	Gabriele TARQUINI		BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse	Hyundai i30 N TCR	15	1:37.415	0.965
17	8	Luca ENGSTLER		Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team	Hyundai i30 N TCR	14	1:37.665	1.215
18	7	Jack YOUNG		Vuković Motorsport	Renault Mégane RS TCR	18	1:37.697	1.247
19	96	Mikel AZCONA		Zengő Motorsport	CUPRA Leon Competición	18	1:37.828	1.378
20	33	Dylan O’KEEFFE		Vuković Motorsport	Renault Mégane RS TCR	16	1:38.128	1.678
21	55	Bence BOLDIZS		Zengő Motorsport	CUPRA Leon Competición	19	1:38.828	2.378
22	99	Gábor KISMARTY-LECHNER		Zengő Motorsport	CUPRA Leon Competición	19	1:40.607	4.157