Macau: Muller's last-gasp pole
Former Macau Grand Prix winner Jorg Muller kept hold of his provisional pole position during Friday's final qualifying session for this weekend's SJM Macau Guia race, but he was forced to wait until the final seconds of track activity to steal the top slot back from BMW Team Germany team-mate Andy Priaulx
The battle for pole position was decided with a final dash to set the best times in the closing minutes of qualifying, after a red flag eight minutes from the end of the session caused by BMW's Duncan Huisman crashing heavily at Mandarin Corner and coming to rest in a dangerous position.
Muller had been on pole position up until that point, having maintained the speed advantage that earned him the provisional top spot on Thursday, and as the car resumed for the final minutes of running it was clear that all the front-runners were going to make a major attempt to wrest the top spot.
Muller, Priaulx and the SEAT of Rickard Rydell, who had been on pole position during the middle part of final qualifying, circulated close together out on the circuit as each driver succeeded in bettering their times.
Priaulx appeared to have won the battle, when he grabbed the top spot from Muller, before Rydell also pipped the German to secure a front row slot. But before either driver had had a chance to work out where they would start the race, Muller had hauled himself back to the front of the field with a supreme effort that left him 0.764 seconds ahead of Priaulx.
"With new tyres it was a bit of a lottery with traffic, but I have had a great start to the weekend," said Muller. "It is going to be a close fight on Sunday."
SEAT's Jordi Gene set the fourth fastest time, having repaired his car following a hefty crash in first qualifying, while Dirk Muller was fifth quickest despite a spin coming out of the Melco hairpin that briefly blocked the track.
NASCAR bans Chastain Martinsville wall-ride manoeuvre
NASCAR has decided to ban the wall-ride manoeuvre made famous by Ross Chastain at Martinsville that secured him a place in the Championship 4.
Gasly: Mindset for Alpine is "completely different" to Red Bull F1 move
Pierre Gasly says he has a "completely different" mindset for his Alpine Formula 1 move thanks to lessons taken from his failed stint at Red Bull in 2019.
GTD Pro win a “proper send-off” for retiring IMSA stalwart MacNeil
Winning the GTD Pro class at the Daytona 24 Hours was a fitting way for Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, says team-mate Jules Gounon.
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
The 2022 Autosport Awards winner using Esports as a launchpad
A trail blazed in Esports has inspired a revamp of the annual prize that aims to discover the best young engineering talent. Autosport met Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future winner Michael Preston
The plug in and play stand-ins who got their timing just right
Nyck de Vries’s Italian GP exploits weren’t the first post-eleventh-hour call-up in motorsport history, and won’t be the last either. Here are some offbeat tales from the past
Porsche’s hopeful Le Mans future meets its illustrious past
Rising sportscar star Adam Smalley had to pinch himself when offered the chance to drive the car that won the world’s most famous enduro in 1987
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
The iconic Lola name is being relaunched after it was taken over by new ownership. Part of that reboot is a planned return to racing, though the exact details of this are still to be finalised - though its new owner does have a desire to bring the brand back to the Le Mans 24 Hours. But romanticism doesn't appear to be the driving force behind this renewed project...
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.