Photo: WTCR Media

Rob Huff takes last gasp pole from Esteban Guerrieri at Macau

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Rob Huff scored his seventh career pole for Race 1 at the Guia Race of Macau, coming back from being six-tenths back at the end of the third sector to take pole position, and set the new TCR lap record at the track.

Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen driver Huff had broken his practice record just before the half-way point in the 40-minute session with a time of 2:29.597, which he set just as the session was red-flagged when reigning WTCC champion Thed Björk crashed his YMR Hyundai i30 N TCR out at Fishermen’s Bend, with the team faced with a serious challenge to repair his car before today’s second qualifying session.

The session resumed after a short break, with Esteban Guerrieri then launching his Münnich Motorsport Honda onto pole with a time of 2:29.519, benefitting from a three-car tow with his team-mates Yann Ehrlacher and Timo Scheider.

Yvan Muller meanwhile, in the lone remaining YMR Hyundai, planted his car in third, but then had an altercation with Guerrieri on the way into Lisboa, with the Muller clearly irked with Guerrieri seemingly hampering the start of the Frenchman’s next lap.

Guerrieri returned to the pits and began celebrating his lap, while Huff went out for a last-minute stab at pole.

The Volkswagen driver was six-tenths off in the first sector, and it seemed pole was out of reach, while he was fastest in the second sector he hadn’t clawed back much time, and was still six-tenths off in the third sector.

Somehow, the Briton managed to recover more than nine-tenths of a second in the final sector to secure a comfortable pole position, his seventh at the circuit, with Guerrieri left half a second behind.

Muller was third, with Yann Ehrlacher fourth, though he’ll drop to last with an engine change penalty which will promote Team WRT’s Jean-Karl Vernay to fourth, with Mehdi Bennani’s Volkswagen up to fifth.

Championship leader Gabriele Tarquini was eight, which will be seventh after Ehrlacher’s penalty, meaning he’s well-placed to score key points in the championship.

28 cars have officially qualified for the race, with the Audi of wild card Lam Kam San, the Volkswagen of Rui Valente and the Zengo Cupra of Zsolt Szabo all outside the newly set 105% target time.

The second qualifying session for both of Sunday’s races, Race 2 and 3, is set to take place at 13:35 CST (06:35 CET).