Engstler Motorsport’s Nicki Thiim continued on top of the times in first practice for the TCR International Series in Portugal, more than half a second clear of WestCoast Racing’s Gianni Morbidelli.
Dane Thiim hit the top of the times after just over five minutes in the session and was never beaten thereafter, opening up a margin of 0.605 seconds over the Honda of Morbidelli.
Third fastest and the top SEAT León driver was Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Pepe Oriola, who was the only other driver to be within a second of Thiim’s Audi TT. Oriola’s team-mate Jordi Gené was fourth fastest, ahead of Target Competition duo Andrea Belicchi and Michel Nykjær in fifth and sixth respectively.
WestCoast Racing’s Kevin Gleason was seventh fastest, exactly 1.5 seconds off the pace. Completing the top ten were championship leader Stefano Comini, newcomer Francisco Mora and Engstler Motorsport’s Lorenzo Veglia.
Several drivers failed to post a time in the session, including newcomer this weekend Kelvin Van der Linde, who is at the wheel of Engstler’s second Audi TT. Mikhail Grachev, who has stepped into a second SEAT León for the team, also did not post a time.
Armando Parente is driving the second Campos Racing Opel Astra this weekend, alongside Oscar Nogués, but the Portuguese driver failed to post a time in the sesson.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 3 | Nicki THIIM |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Audi Sport TT Cup | 11 | 1:53.929 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 10 | Gianni MORBIDELLI |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 11 | 1:54.534 | 0.605 |
| 3 | 74 | Pepe ORIOLA |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 10 | 1:54.802 | 0.873 |
| 4 | 88 | Jordi GENÉ | |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 8 | 1:55.202 | 1.273 |
| 5 | 33 | Andrea BELICCHI | |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 12 | 1:55.256 | 1.327 |
| 6 | 17 | Michel NYKJÆR | |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 12 | 1:55.260 | 1.331 |
| 7 | 24 | Kevin GLEASON |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 13 | 1:55.429 | 1.500 |
| 8 | 25 | Stefano COMINI |  |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 12 | 1:55.586 | 1.657 |
| 9 | 50 | Francisco MORA |  |
Veloso Motorsport | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:55.636 | 1.707 |
| 10 | 7 | Lorenzo VEGLIA | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | SEAT León Racer | 13 | 1:55.751 | 1.822 |
| 11 | 77 | Sergey AFANASYEV |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:55.805 | 1.876 |
| 12 | 19 | Oscar NOGUÉS | |
Campos Racing | Opel Astra OPC | 9 | 1:56.153 | 2.224 |
| 13 | 18 | José MONROY | |
Veloso Motorsport | SEAT León Racer | 13 | 1:57.215 | 3.286 |
| 14 | 20 | Igor SKUZ |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 11 | 1:57.327 | 3.398 |
| 15 | 9 | Kelvin VAN DER LINDE |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Audi Sport TT Cup | – | No time | N/A |
| 16 | 8 | Mikhail GRACHEV | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | SEAT León Racer | – | No time | N/A |
| 17 | 22 | Armando PARENTE | |
Campos Racing | Opel Astra OPC | – | No time | N/A |