Priaulx on pole for season finale
Andy Priaulx has claimed pole position for the FIA World Touring Car Championship finale at Macau after heading off a major challenge from rivals Alfa Romeo in qualifying
The BMW driver, who is hoping to capture the WTCC crown at Macau, was a comfortable six tenths of a second clear of local driver Andre Couto after setting his best time in the opening minutes of the incident-filled session.
Couto delighted the home crowd with his performance, as he edged out Alfa Romeo's teammates Augusto Farfus Jr. and Gabriele Tarquini for second place on the grid.
All three drivers ended the session with damaged cars, however. Couto hit the wall at Matsuya early in the session, Farfus Jr. collided with Paul Poon in the dying seconds of qualifying, and Tarquini crashed at Police before he was hit by SEAT's Rickard Rydell.
Chevrolet's Nicola Larini qualified fifth, while championship leader Dirk Muller, who is only one point ahead of BMW team-mate Priaulx in the championship, will start sixth. The other title contender, Alfa Romeo's Fabrizio Giovanardi, will start ninth.
The session was red flagged four times. Peter Scharmach spun his car on the run out of the Melco hairpin to cause the first stoppage, while local driver Ao Chi Hong hit the barriers at Fisherman's and then spun to a halt in the middle of the circuit to cause the second stoppage. Tarquini and Farfus Jr.'s accidents also brought out the red flags.
Pos Driver Make Time Laps
1. Andy Priaulx BMW 320i 2:31.712 9
2. Andre Couto Alfa Romeo 156 2:32.334 + 0.622 4
3. Augusto Farfus Jr. Alfa Romeo 156 2:32.466 + 0.754 8
4. Gabriele Tarquini Alfa Romeo 156 2:32.524 + 0.812 7
5. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 2:32.808 + 1.096 9
6. Dirk Muller BMW 320i 2:33.062 + 1.350 9
7. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon 2:33.238 + 1.526 7
8. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 2:33.572 + 1.860 9
9. Fabrizio Giovanardi Alfa Romeo 156 2:33.653 + 1.941 9
10. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 2:33.867 + 2.155 9
11. Jorg Muller BMW 320i 2:33.896 + 2.184 9
12. Antonio Garcia BMW 320i 2:33.983 + 2.271 10
13. Tom Coronel Seat Toledo Cupra 2:34.284 + 2.572 10
14. Giuseppe Ciro BMW 320i 2:34.459 + 2.747 10
15. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon 2:34.530 + 2.818 9
16. Duncan Huisman BMW 320i 2:34.812 + 3.100 9
17. James Thompson Alfa Romeo 156 2:35.383 + 3.671 10
18. Peter Scharmach BMW 320i 2:36.176 + 4.464 4
19. Carl Rosenblad BMW 320i 2:36.199 + 4.487 10
20. Patrick Bernhardt Ford Focus 2:36.338 + 4.626 10
21. Peter Terting SEAT Leon 2:36.645 + 4.933 11
22. Stefano D'aste BMW 320i 2:36.781 + 5.069 10
23. Michael Funke Ford Focus 2:37.145 + 5.433 9
24. Simon Harrison Honda Accord Euro R 2:37.215 + 5.503 5
25. Adriano De Micheli Honda Accord Euro R 2:37.281 + 5.569 9
26. Marc Hennerici BMW 320i 2:38.686 + 6.974 7
27. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320i 2:38.942 + 7.230 8
Not qualified:
Pos Driver Make Time Laps
Paul Poon BMW 320i 2:43.386 + 11.674 10
Hironori Takeuchi Toyota Altezza 2:43.426 + 11.714 10
Lo Ka Fai Seat Toledo Cupra 2:44.626 + 12.914 9
Ao Chi Hong BMW 320i
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