Two very close testing sessions opened the first race meeting of the 2003 FIA European Touring Car Championship in Barcelona. Twenty drivers took part in the sessions and Nicola Larini emerged as the fastest of them all; the Alfa Romeo man beat BMW’s Jörg Müller and Fabrizio Giovanardi by only 5 and 68 thousandths of a second respectively. The level of competition is so balanced that eight drivers were covered by only three tenths, while five more managed to stay in the same second. Independent driver Paolo Ruberti was impressive at the wheel of his Clever Cats Alfa 156, setting the fifth fastest time, and so was Andy Priaulx on his first season in the BMW Great Britain’s car. Rickard Rydell and Frank Diefenbacher proved that Volvo and SEAT are on the right way to break into the top positions, while André Couto could not complete the second session after his Pro Motorsport Honda Civic suffered from an engine problem. For a few drivers, such as Balzan, Francia, Nilsson, Huisman and Palomeras, this testing was the first real outing in their new cars. Sardelli could not post a time in the second ART Engineering Volvo, because of a suspension problem, while Dirk Müller met with brake problems in the second session. As for Tarquini, he missed most of the first session after he went off and rolled; his car was repaired in time for the second session, but tomorrow the team will replace the roof. ETCC drivers will officially start the 2003 season on Saturday, with free practice and qualifying.

FREE PRACTICE TIMES

1. Larini (Autodelta Alfa 156 Gta) 1:54.602; 2. J. Müller (BMW Deutschland BMW 320i) 1:54.607; 3. Giovanardi (BMW Italy-Spain BMW 320i) 1:54.670; 4. Colciago (Autodelta Alfa 156 Gta) 1:54.708; 5. Ruberti (Clever Cats Alfa 156 Gta) 1:54.794; 6. Priaulx (BMW Great Britain BMW 320i) 1:54.802; 7. García (BMW Italy-Spain BMW 320i) 1:54.862; 8. Tarquini (Autodelta Alfa 156 Gta) 1:54.908; 9. Francia (Clever Cats Alfa 156 Gta) 1:55.034; 10. Rydell (ART Volvo S60) 1:55.181; 11. Diefenbacher (SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo) 1:55.370; 12. D. Müller (BMW Deutschland BMW 320i) 1:55.447; 13. Huisman (Carly BMW 320i) 1:55.671; 14. Coronel (Carly BMW 320i) 1:56.046; 15. Gené (SEAT Sport SEAT Toledo) 1:56.071; 16. Balzan (Bigazzi Alfa 156 Gta) 1:56.477; 17. Couto (Pro Motorsport Honda Civic) 1:56.490; 18. Nilsson (Flash Volvo S60) 1:56.850; 19. Palomeras (Pro Motorsport Honda Civic) 1:57.210; 20. Cayrolle (Bigazzi Alfa 156 Gta) 1:58.678.