Gene quickest in second practice

The Spaniard's best time was just 0.026s quicker than fellow factory SEAT driver Rickard Rydell, who finished up second.

Andy Priaulx broke the SEAT stronghold at the front with the third best time for BMW, ahead of Tiago Monteiro's SEAT and Jorg Muller's BMW.

Two more BMWs followed in the shape of local hero Alex Zanardi and Felix Porteiro, who was the quickest independent runner and set his best time on the final lap of the session.

The SEATs of Gabriele Tarquini and Yvan Muller, and Nicola Larini's Chevrolet completed the top 10.

James Thompson was 12th fastest as Lada continues to move nearer to the top 10, he was behind Sergio Hernandez and 0.006s ahead of Rob Huff.

The session was brought to a premature end when Fabio Fabiani beached his independent BMW in the gravel two minutes before the chequered flag was due to come out.

Pos  Driver             Car        Time       Gap
 1.  Jordi Gene         SEAT       1m56.465s
 2.  Rickard Rydell     SEAT       1m56.491s  + 0.026
 3.  Andy Priaulx       BMW        1m56.674s  + 0.209
 4.  Tiago Monteiro     SEAT       1m56.769s  + 0.304
 5.  Jorg Muller        BMW        1m56.791s  + 0.326
 6.  Alex Zanardi       BMW        1m56.886s  + 0.421
 7.  Felix Porteiro     BMW        1m57.064s  + 0.599
 8.  Gabriele Tarquini  SEAT       1m57.073s  + 0.608
 9.  Yvan Muller        SEAT       1m57.152s  + 0.687
10.  Nicola Larini      Chevrolet  1m57.373s  + 0.908
11.  Sergio Hernandez   BMW        1m57.418s  + 0.953
12.  James Thompson     Lada       1m57.617s  + 1.152
13.  Robert Huff        Chevrolet  1m57.623s  + 1.158
14.  Franz Engstler     BMW        1m57.711s  + 1.246
15.  Stefano D'Aste     BMW        1m57.743s  + 1.278
16.  Alain Menu         Chevrolet  1m57.754s  + 1.289
17.  Tom Coronel        SEAT       1m57.772s  + 1.307
18.  Augusto Farfus     BMW        1m57.845s  + 1.380
19.  Mehdi Bennani      SEAT       1m58.137s  + 1.672
20.  Kristian Poulsen   BMW        1m58.690s  + 2.225
21.  Tom Boardman       SEAT       1m59.179s  + 2.714
22.  Andrea Larini      SEAT       1m59.730s  + 3.265
23.  Kirill Ladygin     Lada       2m00.609s  + 4.144
24.  Fabio Fabiani      BMW        2m03.885s  + 7.420