Citroën’s José María López was more than a second faster than anyone else in first practice for the World Touring Car Championship at Spa-Francorchamps, as Citroën secured the top four positions.
Once the Argentine driver rose to the top of the times after around five minutes he remained there for the rest of the session, with his lap of 2:24.350 good enough to keep him at the top thereafter.
Yvan Muller was second fastest, posting his time at around the ten minute mark, but had little answer to López’s speed. The reigning champion ended the session 1.198 seconds down on his team-mate.
Ma Qing Hua was third fastest, improving his time in the final four minutes of the session from ninth where he had spent much of the session. Sébastien Loeb completed the top four, with the final three Citroën drivers within two tenths of each other.
Hugo Valente was the only challenger to the Citroën’s, putting his Chevrolet fifth fastest and just over a tenth of a second behind Loeb. The Frenchman had earlier been second quickest, but he ran wide on several of his subsequent flying laps.
Mehdi Bennani was the top Honda driver in sixth, ahead of ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton in seventh.
Works’ Honda drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro were eighth and ninth fastest, with tenth-placed Zengő Motorport driver Norbert Michelisz ensuring all four Civics ended the session inside the top ten.
There were spins for Dušan Borković (12th) and Mikhail Kozlovskiy (17th) in the session, with the latter lucky not to contact the barriers with his slide in the final minute of the session.
Second practice takes place at 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST).
Top ten times
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 37 | TC1 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 9 | 2:24.350 | |
| 2 | 1 | TC1 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 7 | 2:25.548 | 1.198 |
| 3 | 33 | TC1 | MA Qing Hua |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 9 | 2:25.628 | 1.278 |
| 4 | 9 | TC1 | Sébastien LOEB | |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 10 | 2:25.698 | 1.348 |
| 5 | 7 | TC1 | Hugo VALENTE | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 7 | 2:25.804 | 1.454 |
| 6 | 25 | TC1 | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Proteam Racing | Honda Civic WTCC | 10 | 2:26.678 | 2.328 |
| 7 | 3 | TC1 | Tom CHILTON |  |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 10 | 2:26.690 | 2.340 |
| 8 | 2 | TC1 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 9 | 2:26.784 | 2.434 |
| 9 | 18 | TC1 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 8 | 2:26.842 | 2.492 |
| 10 | 5 | TC1 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 10 | 2:27.422 | 3.072 |