Jenson Brickley led the first free practice session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya by just 19-thousandths of a second ahead of the Hyundai of Junesung Park, in a drizzly start to the championship finale weekend.

Brickley’s set his time of 1:50.189 in his CUPRA just after the halfway point of the session, deposing early front runner Ruben Volt’s ALM Honda.

With just under ten minutes to go, Junesung Park placed his Solite Indigo Racing Hyundai in second, with Volt finishing the second in third.

Of the championship’s top five drivers, Brickley was the best-placed in first, while Teddy Clairet’s Audi was sixth, with his brother Jimmy two places behind him in eighth.

Joint-championship leader Eric Gené was 11th, while Marco Butti was unable to set a time, causing a red flag at the start as his MM Motorsport Honda stopped on circuit with an oil pressure issue.

The AIKOA Racing Audi of Nicola Baldan also didn’t set a competitive time, with the Italian experiencing right-rear suspension failure.

The second practice session of the day gets underway at 18:10 CEST.