Target Competition’s Stefano Comini set the pace in first practice for the TCR International Series at the Red Bull Ring, as the new Volkswagen Golf TCR car posted the third fastest time with Pol Rosell.
Young Spaniard Rosell has been chosen to race the new Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf, along with the squad’s regular driver Mikhail Grachev. Rosell improved his times throughout the session, before ending up in third, just 0.146 seconds off the pace and 0.001 seconds slower than SEAT driver Pepe Oriola.
Andrea Belicchi put his Target SEAT fourth fastest, ahead of Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s returning Lorenzo Veglia in fifth, who remains at the wheel of a SEAT León car in Austria.
Grachev was sixth quickest in his new Golf, ahead of the top Honda of Gianni Morbidelli in seventh, with the Italian being the first driver over a second off the pace.
Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Sergey Afanasyev, Jordi Gené and WestCoast Racing’s Kevin Gleason completed the top ten.
First-time TCR drivers propped up the timesheets, with Hungarian Dániel Nagy in 11th, ahead of Ukrainian Igor Skuz in 12th.
Accomplished female racer Michela Cerruti was 13th in her SEAT, ahead of Monegasque driver Gabriele Marotta in 14th.
The Proteam Racing Ford Focus ST returns to the track this weekend with Diego Romanini at the wheel, but the Italian managed no laps in first practice.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 25 | Stefano COMINI |  |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:40.781 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 74 | Pepe ORIOLA |  |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:40.926 | 0.145 |
| 3 | 42 | Pol ROSELL | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf TCR | 13 | 1:40.927 | 0.146 |
| 4 | 33 | Andrea BELICCHI |  |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:41.002 | 0.221 |
| 5 | 7 | Lorenzo VEGLIA | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | SEAT León Racer | 16 | 1:41.739 | 0.958 |
| 6 | 8 | Mikhail GRACHEV |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf TCR | 16 | 1:41.773 | 0.992 |
| 7 | 10 | Gianni MORBIDELLI | |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 12 | 1:42.167 | 1.386 |
| 8 | 77 | Sergey AFANASYEV | |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:42.374 | 1.593 |
| 9 | 88 | Jordi GENÉ | |
Team Craft-Bamboo LUKOIL | SEAT León Racer | 11 | 1:42.525 | 1.744 |
| 10 | 24 | Kevin GLEASON |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 12 | 1:42.954 | 2.173 |
| 11 | 43 | Dániel NAGY |  |
Zengő Motorsport | SEAT León Racer | 12 | 1:43.854 | 3.073 |
| 12 | 20 | Igor SKUZ |  |
West Coast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | 12 | 1:43.963 | 3.182 |
| 41 | Michela CERRUTI | |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 14 | 1:44.547 | 3.766 | |
| 40 | Gabriele MAROTTA |  |
Target Competition | SEAT León Racer | 13 | 1:48.381 | 7.600 | |
| 72 | Diego ROMANINI | |
Proteam Racing | Ford Focus RS | 0 | No time | N/A |