Thompson clocked a fastest lap of 2:00.918, posted during the morning session of a hot day with temperatures in the high thirties.

"We had a very good day," said Thompson. "We didn't carry out as many laps as other teams because we were making big changes on the car between the runs but it was worth it.

"We take this result as a good representation of the progress we're making. Step-by-step we will be back at the level we are used to competing at."

Front wheel-drive cars emerged as the fastest as Tom Coronel, and his SUNRED petrol-powered SEAT León, set the best lap in the afternoon but the Dutchman's 2:00.940 was 0.022 seconds off Thompson's best.

Chevrolet's Alain Menu completed a lap of 2:00.946, only a further four thousandths of a second adrift. Andy Priaulx was the best of the BMW men, setting the fourth fastest lap of 2:01.214, just ahead of Jordi Gené (2:01.298), the best of the SEAT León TDI cars.

Sixteen drivers took part in the test, with 13 of them covered by only a second.

In the afternoon, Turkish driver Aytac Biter, a former runner up in the national Formula 3 championship, replaced his fellow countryman Ibrahim Okyay at the wheel of the Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW car.

Biter is due to drive the team's second car in the WTCC events at Brands Hatch and Oschersleben.