Slovakia WTCR: Gabriele Tarquini leads Hyundai qualifying dominance

Tarquini beat Michelisz's long-standing benchmark by 0.352 seconds with his final lap at the end of the session, securing his second pole of the season with a fastest time of 2m09.312s.

The BRC pair both completed two runs in their Hyundai i30 Ns and were comfortably quickest of all, with third-place qualifier and championship leader Yvan Muller more than six tenths slower than Michelisz and close to a second off Tarquini's time in his i30 N.

UPDATE: Three Hyundais excluded for boost issues

Aurelien Comte qualified best of the rest in his DG Sport Peugeot 308TCR in fourth, 1.014s off the pace, while Pepe Oriola (Campos Racing Cupra) and Esteban Guerrieri (Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic) were fifth and sixth.

Muller's team-mate Thed Bjork was seventh with his one and only run at the start of the session, but will start the first race of the weekend from the back of the grid after YMR elected to change his Hyundai's engine.

That means WRT driver Jean-Karl Vernay moves up to head row four in the fastest of the Audi RS3 LMSs, with the respective Boutsen Ginion and Munnich Civics of Tom Coronel and title hopeful Yann Ehrlacher eighth and ninth.

Fresh from a first WTCR victory in Vila Real three weeks ago, Mato Homola qualified 11th for the first race at his home venue.

Fabrizio Giovanardi equalled the Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo outfit's best qualifying of the season so far and will start race one from 14th, six places ahead of new team-mate Kevin Ceccon.

Sebastien Loeb Racing drivers Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani were 23rd and 24th in their new Volkswagen Golf GTIs, which were delivered to the team then built up after the pair's huge shunt in the opening race at Vila Real.

Huff qualified 2.531s off the pace, with Bennani a further half a second back.

John Filippi avoided a grid penalty for an engine change but failed to set a time in qualifying after beaching his Campos Racing Cupra in the gravel on his first qualifying effort, causing a short red flag.

Race one qualifying