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WTCR Marrakech: Honda's Guerrieri takes race one pole, Muller second

Honda driver Esteban Guerrieri claimed pole position for the 2019 World Touring Car Cup season opener at Marrakech after Yvan Muller suffered an oil leak

Guerrieri, who finished third overall in the drivers' standings last season, dragged his Munnich Motorsport-run Civic Type R to a fastest time of 1m24.773s to beat Muller's early benchmark by 0.239 seconds.

That effort was around a tenth slower than the time with which Thed Bjork claimed pole for last year's season opener at the Moulay El Hassan street circuit, and marks the Argentinian's first qualifying pole position since the series adopted TCR regulations.

Muller might well have challenged him for the top spot, but was forced to sit out the second half of the session after an error.

The four-time World Touring Car champion had led by a couple of tenths in the early part of the 40-minute session, but then struck the kerb in the second part of the Turns 4/5 chicane.

His Cyan Racing team discovered an oil leak on his return to the pits, and Muller was not able to return to the track in the team's new Lynk & Co 03.

Speaking after the session, Muller said his engine "was not in the best condition", and Cyan decided prior to the race to change the engine in his car.

Muller will therefore start the race from the back of the 26-car grid, moving everyone else up one position, but will keep the four points he earned by qualifying second.

The Frenchman's stablemate Thed Bjork qualified third in his Lynk & Co 03, 0.037s slower than Muller, while Nestor Girolami made it two Munnich Hondas in the top four.

A late improvement from Girolami bumped the third Lynk & Co of World Touring Car returnee Andy Priaulx back a place, but the three-time world champion nevertheless qualified a strong fifth - 0.365s off the pace.

Reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini complained of engine problems in the early stages of the session but qualified best of the BRC Hyundais, dragging his i30 N to sixth place.

Jean-Karl Vernay (WRT Audi) was one of a number of drivers to suffer a puncture in qualifying but set a time good enough for seventh, with Tiago Monteiro eighth in his KCMG Honda in his first qualifying session back in the series full-time.

Muller's nephew Yann Ehrlacher made it four Lynk & Cos in the top 10 in ninth, while series debutant Daniel Haglof turned in an excellent time to secure 10th in his PWR Cupra.

The lead Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce of Kevin Ceccon qualified 11th, ahead of Hyundai drivers Norbert Michelisz and Nicky Catsburg.

Volkswagen cars struggled during the session, with Rob Huff as the brand's lead representative in 16th, 0.761s off the pace.

His team-mates Johan Kristoffersson - the double World Rallycross champion making his first WTCR qualifying appearance - and Mehdi Bennani qualified 20th and 21st.

Benjamin Leuchter was 25th of the 26 runners in the fourth Sebastien Loeb Racing-run Volkswagen Golf GTI, ahead only of fellow debutant Attila Tassi, whose front splitter was broken after he was squeezed onto a kerb mid-session.

Race one qualifying results

Pos Driver Team Car Gap Laps
1 Esteban Guerrieri Munnich Motorsport Honda 1m24.773s 15
2 Yvan Muller Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 0.239s 6
3 Thed Bjork Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 0.276s 16
4 Nestor Girolami Munnich Motorsport Honda 0.336s 14
5 Andy Priaulx Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 0.365s 16
6 Gabriele Tarquini BRC Squadra Corse Hyundai 0.401s 15
7 Jean-Karl Vernay WRT Audi 0.404s 16
8 Tiago Monteiro KCMG Honda 0.429s 16
9 Yann Ehrlacher Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 0.448s 14
10 Daniel Haglof PWR Racing Cupra 0.454s 13
11 Kevin Ceccon Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo 0.461s 16
12 Norbert Michelisz BRC Squadra Corse Hyundai 0.462s 16
13 Nicky Catsburg BRC Racing Team Hyundai 0.473s 14
14 Mikel Azcona PWR Racing Cupra 0.681s 20
15 Aurelien Panis Comtoyou Cupra Cupra 0.731s 14
16 Rob Huff SLR VW Motorsport Volkswagen 0.761s 16
17 Augusto Farfus BRC Racing Team Hyundai 0.766s 17
18 Niels Langeveld Comtoyou Audi Audi 0.778s 10
19 Tom Coronel Comtoyou Cupra Cupra 0.816s 12
20 Johan Kristoffersson SLR Volkswagen Volkswagen 0.912s 15
21 Mehdi Bennani SLR VW Motorsport Volkswagen 0.917s 14
22 Ma Qinghua Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo 1.049s 16
23 Gordon Shedden WRT Audi 1.145s 17
24 Frederic Vervisch Comtoyou Audi Audi 1.459s 10
25 Benjamin Leuchter SLR Volkswagen Volkswagen 1.737s 17
26 Attila Tassi KCMG Honda 1.749s 10


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