Priaulx bounces back in practice 2
Andy Priaulx got his bid to win the FIA World Touring Car Championship back on course when he topped the timesheet in second practice at Macau on Friday
The Briton, who is hoping to follow-up on his FIA European Touring Car Championship crown, put the puncture problem that wrecked his running in the morning's first practice session behind him to edge out local driver Andre Couto by 0.223 seconds with his final lap.
"We've got a good balance on the car, but I'm not getting excited yet," said Priaulx. "I'm much happier with everything, but we have to remember that we are a session behind everyone else because of the puncture this morning. I think it's going to be a tough qualifying session later on."
Couto put his vast experience of the Guia circuit to good use to lead Alfa Romeo's challenge with the second best time, which he set in the opening ten minutes of practice.
Gabriele Tarquini was third quickest, while Chevrolet's Nicola Larini, who was fastest in first practice, was fourth overall ahead of BMW's Jorg Muller and Antonio Garcia.
Priaulx's rivals for the championship, Dirk Muller and Fabrizio Giovanardi, encountered mixed fortunes. Muller was eighth fastest despite a run down the escape road at Lisboa, while Giovanardi was 15 th after brushing the barriers at Reservoir Bend on one of his fast laps.
Former grand prix driver Alessandro Zanardi hit the wall at Maternity and caused damage to the right hand side of his BMW, while SEAT's Peter Terting dented his car against the barriers after running off head-first at Police.
Pos Driver Make Time Laps 1. Andy Priaulx BMW 320i 2:33.341 12 2. Andre Couto Alfa Romeo 156 2:33.564 + 0.223 11 3. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 2:33.842 + 0.501 10 4. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 2:33.884 + 0.543 6 5. Jorg Muller BMW 320i 2:34.079 + 0.738 11 6. Antonio Garcia BMW 320i 2:34.163 + 0.822 11 7. Duncan Huisman BMW 320i 2:34.163 + 0.822 11 8. Dirk Muller BMW 320i 2:34.306 + 0.965 11 9. Augusto Farfus Jr. Alfa Romeo 156 2:34.314 + 0.973 12 10. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon 2:34.364 + 1.023 9 11. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320i 2:34.385 + 1.044 7 12. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 2:34.545 + 1.204 11 13. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 2:34.822 + 1.481 11 14. Tom Coronel Seat Toledo Cupra 2:34.843 + 1.502 7 15. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon 2:34.929 + 1.588 8 16. James Thompson Alfa Romeo 156 2:35.205 + 1.864 10 17. Simon Harrison Honda Accord Euro R 2:35.563 + 2.222 10 18. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 2:35.569 + 2.228 9 19. Carl Rosenblad BMW 320i 2:35.917 + 2.576 10 20. Giuseppe Ciro BMW 320i 2:35.942 + 2.601 12 21. Peter Scharmach BMW 320i 2:36.502 + 3.161 5 22. Stefano D'aste BMW 320i 2:36.520 + 3.179 11 23. Marc Hennerici BMW 320i 2:37.094 + 3.753 12 24. Patrick Bernhardt Ford Focus 2:37.514 + 4.173 8 25. Michael Funke Ford Focus 2:37.853 + 4.512 3 26. Peter Terting SEAT Leon 2:37.945 + 4.604 8 27. Adriano De Micheli Honda Accord Euro R 2:39.396 + 6.055 6 28. Hironori Takeuchi Toyota Altezza 2:44.115 + 10.774 11 29. Lo Ka Fai Seat Toledo Cupra 2:44.919 + 11.578 5 30. Paul Poon BMW 320i 2:46.695 + 13.354 9 31. Ao Chi Hong BMW 320i 2:47.390 + 14.049 6
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