Farfus quickest in pre-race testing
Home hero Augusto Farfus topped today's first official World Touring Car Championship session of the year at Curitiba
The Brazilian, on his first race appearance for BMW, pipped Schnitzer Motorsport team-mate Jorg Muller by three-thousandths of a second in a session curtailed by an accident between SEAT pairing Roberto Colciago and Michel Jourdain Jr. Despite his pace, Farfus was still over a second shy of his 2006 pole time at Curitiba, set in an Alfa Romeo 156.
Tom Coronel, running as a works SEAT entry for the first time with the GR-Asia team, was third fastest ahead of the lead Chevrolet Lacetti of Alain Menu.
James Thompson was fifth fastest having returned to the N.Technology Alfa Romeo team from SEAT. Defending champion Andy Priaulx was eight fastest for the Racing Bart Mampaey-run BMW Team GB, behind the second Chevy of Rob Huff.
Italian Luca Rangoni was the fastest independent contender in an impressive sixth overall driving a Proteam Motorsport BMW 320si.
The half-hour test was run as a precursor to this weekend's WTCC season-opener.
Friday testing times:
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Augusto Farfus BMW 320si 1:25.895 2. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 1:25.898 + 0.003 3. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 1:26.219 + 0.324 4. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 1:26.392 + 0.497 5. James Thompson Alfa Romeo 156 1:26.529 + 0.634 6. Luca Rangoni BMW 320i 1:26.558 + 0.663 7. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 1:26.567 + 0.672 8. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 1:26.685 + 0.790 9. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon 1:26.794 + 0.899 10. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon 1:26.804 + 0.909 11. Felix Porteiro BMW 320si 1:26.819 + 0.924 12. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 1:26.860 + 0.965 13. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320si 1:26.958 + 1.063 14. Roberto Colciago SEAT Leon 1:27.021 + 1.126 15. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon 1:27.434 + 1.539 16. Stefano D'Aste BMW 320i 1:27.555 + 1.660 17. Pierre-Yves Corthals SEAT Leon 1:27.596 + 1.701 18. Sergio Hernandez BMW 320i 1:27.755 + 1.860 19. Michel Jourdain SEAT Leon 1:28.161 + 2.266 20. Olivier Tielemans Alfa Romeo 156 1:28.941 + 3.046 21. Emmet O'Brien SEAT Leon 1:29.091 + 3.196
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