Duval takes Macau pole

The ASM driver overcame the distractions caused by four red flag incidents to snatch the top-spot with just 11 minutes of qualifying remaining. Brazilian Lucas di Grassi claimed second spot with a last-minute lap, while provisional pole man Robert Kubica ended up third.

"For sure it was a very difficult session and there was a lot of traffic," said Duval. "I felt I could be on pole here and although I know it is sometimes not best to be on pole position for the first race, because of the long straight after the start, I still hope to have a good race."

Di Grassi admitted that it had been hard for him to get a clean lap. "I could not get a tow down the main straight and I only managed to have two clean laps because of the traffic and flag interruptions," he said. "But I did what I could and managed to get that lap in."

Kubica was slightly disappointed to have lost his provisional pole slot, but was realistic enough to know that the race could still go his way. "The result for us is really good, and being on the second row is not too bad," he said.

Briton Mike Conway did not know whether to be happy or sad with his fourth fastest time, having crashed into the barriers at Police immediately after setting his best time - which had briefly helped him top the timesheets.

"I did a 2:12 lap and after that I was just pushing a little bit too hard," he said. "It is my first time here, and I am happy with the result, but had that incident not happened then I know I could have been a lot quicker."

The session was stopped four times because of incidents. Fabio Carbone caused the first one when he spun and stopped in the middle of the circuit after clipping the barriers on the exit of Reservoir Bend.

Dan Clarke, Filip Salaquarda and Guillaume Moreau caused the second red flag when they collided at Police almost immediately after the first restart, while Charlie Kimball brought out the red flags for the third time when he spun at Police and blocked the track. The final crash, which brought the session to an early end, was caused by Joao Paolo de Oliveira.

The ten-lap qualifying race will be held tomorrow and will determine the grid for the 52nd Macau Grand Prix on Sunday.

Qualifying 2 results:

Pos  Driver              Make-Engine             Time               Laps
 1.  Loic Duval          Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:11.348            17
 2.  Lucas Di Grassi     Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:11.913 +  0.565   17
 3.  Robert Kubica       Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:12.163 +  0.815   18
 4.  Mike Conway         Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:12.254 +  0.906    9
 5.  Franck Perera       Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:13.228 +  1.880   18
 6.  Paolo Montin        Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:13.236 +  1.888   17
 7.  Joao P De Oliveira  Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:13.247 +  1.899   14
 8.  Kazuki Nakajima     Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:13.273 +  1.925   16
 9.  Guillaume Moreau    Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:13.337 +  1.989   17
10.  Naoki Yokomizo      Dallara Nissan-Tomei    2:13.515 +  2.167   15
11.  Sebastian Vettel    Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:13.593 +  2.245   17
12.  Charlie Kimball     Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.000 +  2.652   13
13.  Danny Watts         Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:14.031 +  2.683   17
14.  Christian Bakkerud  Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.127 +  2.779   16
15.  Kohei Hirate        Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:14.280 +  2.932   18
16.  Karl Reindler       Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.283 +  2.935   18
17.  Taku Bamba          Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:14.728 +  3.380   17
18.  Dan Clarke          Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:14.768 +  3.420   14
19.  Fabio Carbone       SLC Opel-Spiess         2:14.806 +  3.458    2
20.  Romain Grosjean     Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:15.068 +  3.720   17
21.  Stephen Jelley      Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:15.083 +  3.735   19
22.  Daisuke Ikeda       Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:15.891 +  4.543   17
23.  Steven Kane         Lola Honda-Mugen/NB     2:16.052 +  4.704   11
24.  Rodolfo Avila       Dallara Mercedes HWA    2:17.219 +  5.871   15
25.  Bruno Senna         Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:17.461 +  6.113    3
26.  Fillip Salaquarda   Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:17.574 +  6.226    5
27.  Michael Ho          Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:18.117 +  6.769   16
28.  Cheong Lou Meng     Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:19.887 +  8.539    8
29.  Lei Kit Meng        Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:22.670 + 11.322   15
30.  Jo Merszei          Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:27.415 + 16.067   14

Combined results (grid for qualifying race):

Pos  Driver              Make-Engine             Time               Laps
 1.  Loic Duval          Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:11.348            33
 2.  Lucas Di Grassi     Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:11.913 +  0.565   34
 3.  Robert Kubica       Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:12.163 +  0.815   34
 4.  Mike Conway         Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:12.254 +  0.906   25
 5.  Franck Perera       Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:13.228 +  1.880   18
 6.  Paolo Montin        Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:13.236 +  1.888   30
 7.  Joao P De Oliveira  Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:13.247 +  1.899   30
 8.  Kazuki Nakajima     Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:13.273 +  1.925   24
 9.  Fabio Carbone       SLC Opel-Spiess         2:13.306 +  1.958   18
10.  Guillaume Moreau    Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:13.337 +  1.989   35
11.  Naoki Yokomizo      Dallara Nissan-Tomei    2:13.515 +  2.167   30
12.  Sebastian Vettel    Dallara Mercedes-HWA    2:13.593 +  2.245   34
13.  Charlie Kimball     Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.000 +  2.652   27
14.  Danny Watts         Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:14.031 +  2.683   33
15.  Christian Bakkerud  Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.127 +  2.779   33
16.  Kohei Hirate        Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:14.280 +  2.932   34
17.  Karl Reindler       Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:14.283 +  2.935   37
18.  Taku Bamba          Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:14.728 +  3.380   29
19.  Dan Clarke          Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:14.768 +  3.420   30
20.  Romain Grosjean     Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:14.847 +  3.499   36
21.  Stephen Jelley      Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:15.083 +  3.735   37
22.  Bruno Senna         Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:15.520 +  4.172   21
23.  Daisuke Ikeda       Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:15.891 +  4.543   34
24.  Steven Kane         Lola Honda-Mugen/NB     2:16.052 +  4.704   16
25.  Rodolfo Avila       Dallara Mercedes HWA    2:17.219 +  5.871   31
26.  Fillip Salaquarda   Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:17.574 +  6.226   21
27.  Michael Ho          Dallara Toyota-Tom's    2:18.117 +  6.769   30
28.  Cheong Lou Meng     Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:19.887 +  8.539   12
29.  Lei Kit Meng        Dallara Opel-Spiess     2:22.497 + 11.149   33
30.  Jo Merszei          Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB  2:24.177 + 12.829   25