Priaulx not getting carried away

As the Briton set the quickest time overall in the 30-minute acclimatisation run, he saw Fabrizio Giovanardi damage his Alfa Romeo with a crash into the barriers and Dirk Muller end the session two seconds off the pace.

But although he had no complaints about his own performance, he made it clear that he fully expected Giovanardi and Muller to still be major threats for Sunday's double-header.

"This was only free practice and I am sure that Dirk and Fabrizio will be where they need to be when it matters," Priaulx told autosport.com. "I'm not trying to worry too much about what other people are doing though - I'm just focusing on my own job.

"I've got to try and treat this weekend like any other race meeting. I'm trying to stay as relaxed as possible."

Priaulx currently lies one point behind Muller in the title chase, with Giovanardi a further four points adrift.

And fears that other drivers could get involved in deciding the outcome of the championship fight increased on Thursday when local driver Andre Couto set the fourth fastest time for Alfa Romeo.

With new drivers not needing to run ballast, there is a chance series debutants like Couto could play a major role in the outcome of the drivers' and manufacturers' championship battle between Alfa Romeo and BMW.

"I really hope they don't affect the title fight," added Priaulx. "They will want to go out there and try and be heroes, but as long as they don't play dirty then I will be happy.

"What would upset me though was if they starting slowing people down on purpose. That wouldn't be good, but I have got a way of dealing with that if it happens."