Local hero Tiago Monteiro saw his session end in a cloud of white smoke after his Honda Civic pulled up with what was believed to be a blown turbocharger.

Monteiro’s stricken car brought out the red flags before the Civic was towed back to the pits, although there was at least some better news for the Castrol team as Gabriele Tarquini set the second fastest time (2:07.445) in the team’s other car. Pepe Oriola was once again third quickest (2:07.555) with the Zengö Motorsport Honda Civic of Norbert Michelisz (2:07.903) the only other car to break the 2:08.000 barrier.

Joining Monteiro on the list of drivers who experienced problems during the session were Nikolay Karamyshev, who put his SEAT onto two wheels in the final chicane and ended up in the safety barrier, and his fellow Russian driver Mikhail Kozlovskiy whose LADA Granta touched a wall and broke the left rear wheel.

The two-part Qualifying session – extended to a total of forty-five minutes because Porto is a street circuit – is scheduled to begin at 15.00 local time (16.00 CET).