Rain helps Priaulx to Macau pole
Andy Priaulx captured pole position for the World Touring Car Championship finale after rain hit the qualifying session at Macau on Friday
The reigning WTCC champion put in quick laps right at the start of qualifying and, when a downpour soaked the track near the start-finish line, there was no chance of his rivals beating his time.
Fellow BMW driver Dirk Muller will start second, with SEAT's Yvan Muller taking third place on the grid ahead of Duncan Huisman and Jorg Muller.
The rain was a disaster for title contender Rickard Rydell, who had looked like one of Priaulx's main challengers for the pole slot. The Swede failed to make it out of the pits before the rain came down and will line up 22nd.
There was bad news also for SEAT's James Thompson, who brought the red flag out with 17 minutes of the session remaining when he crashed at Fishermen's Bend. He will start 25th.
It was the second session-stopping accident, after Nicola Larini crashed his Chevrolet head first into the barriers after just five minutes.
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Andy Priaulx BMW 320si 2:33.318 2. Dirk Muller BMW 320si 2:34.628 + 1.310 3. Yvan Muller SEAT Leon 2:34.663 + 1.345 4. Duncan Huisman BMW 320si 2:34.761 + 1.443 5. Jorg Muller BMW 320si 2:34.896 + 1.578 6. Tom Coronel SEAT Leon 2:35.476 + 2.158 7. Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo 156 2:35.624 + 2.306 8. Fabrizio Giovanardi Honda Accord Euro R 2:35.705 + 2.387 9. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT Leon 2:36.008 + 2.690 10. Jan Magnussen BMW 320si 2:36.381 + 3.063 11. Peter Terting SEAT Leon 2:38.052 + 4.734 12. Stefano D'aste BMW 320i 2:38.469 + 5.151 13. Gianni Morbidelli Alfa Romeo 156 2:38.561 + 5.243 14. Luca Rangoni BMW 320si 2:39.936 + 6.618 15. Maurizio Ceresoli SEAT Leon 2:43.664 + 10.346 16. Alessandro Zanardi BMW 320si 2:44.268 + 10.950 17. Jordi Gene SEAT Leon 2:44.281 + 10.963 18. Andre Couto SEAT Leon 2:44.552 + 11.234 19. Salvatore Tavano Alfa Romeo 156 2:48.698 + 15.380 20. Robert Huff Chevrolet Lacetti 2:49.943 + 16.625 21. Alain Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 2:50.943 + 17.625 22. Rickard Rydell SEAT Leon 2:55.171 + 21.853 23. Diego Romanini BMW 320i 3:21.266 + 47.948 24. Nicola Larini Chevrolet Lacetti 13:18.943 + 10:45.625 25. James Thompson SEAT Leon 13:24.187 + 10:50.869 26. Ao Chi Hong BMW 320i 13:46.094 + 11:12.776
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