Day 1 closes with Girolami on top

A first very wet day at the Macau Grand Prix saw Néstor Girolami (Hyundai Elantra N) emerge as the fastest driver in the TCR World Tour, topping the timesheets despite not being a title contender.

Girolami topped the sheets with a lap in 2:37.165 during the Free Practice 2 (FP2) that took place in the early afternoon yesterday.

Macau expert Rob Huff (Audi RS3 LMS) was the second fastest (2:37:554), with the third best time being achieved by Marco Butti (Honda Civic Type R FL5), with a lap in 2:39.279.

With the TCR World Tour title to be decided in Macau this weekend, none of the title contenders were willing to take on too much risk in the very wet Guia Circuit.

From the Top 5 of the championship, only Esteban Guerrieri (Honda Civic Type R FL5), currently in second position overall, achieved a relatively fast lap during Thursday’s sessions, posting a best time of 2:39.815. Still, this time was just enough to place him in sixth position in FP2.

Further down the rankings, the second title contender, Thed Björk (Lynk & Co 03), clocked a personal best lap in 2:42.255, at 10th overall.

Björk was immediately followed by Mikel Azcona (Hyundai Elantra N) and the championship leader Norbert Michelizs (Hyundai Elantra N), who only made it to post a best of 2:43.723, almost six and a half seconds slower than Girolami.

Nonetheless, points counting towards the championship will only be awarded starting today from 12:55 p.m. when Qualifying 1 starts, followed immediately by the Qualifying 2 session at 1:35 p.m.