Team Greece paced the opening Formula 4 session at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, with Philippe-Armand Karras doing just enough to see off the challenge of the host nation.
Things were always going to be tight with all drivers using the latest generation Tatuus F4-T421, with chassis being randomly allocated to teams via a blind draw.
Karras’ best effort left him just 0.059s ahead of Team Spain driver Juan Cota Alonso, as the two secured the top spots. Team Israel was third, with its driver Ariel Elkin, who has experience from competing in both the USA and Spanish F4.
Just 0.1s covered the top four, with Francisco Macedo putting Team Portugal fourth, ahead of Team Peru’s Andres Cardenas and Team Australia’s Griffin Peebles. Team Sri Lanka’s David Yevan and Team United Kingdom’s Reza Seewooruthun completed the top eight.
The next session takes place at 17:05 local time.