Duval takes pole in Macau
The ASM driver overcame the distractions caused by four red flag incidents to snatch the top-spot with just 11 minutes of qualifying remaining. Brazilian Lucas di Grassi claimed second spot with a last-minute lap but was moved back two places after the stewards deleted his two best times for ignoring yellow flags.
That leaves provisional pole man Robert Kubica with second spot on the grid, ahead of Briton Mike Conway.
“For sure it was a very difficult session and there was a lot of traffic," said Duval. “I felt I could be on pole here and although I know it is sometimes not best to be on pole position for the first race, because of the long straight after the start, I still hope to have a good race."
Kubica was slightly disappointed to have lost his provisional pole slot, but was realistic enough to know that the race could still go his way. “The result for us is really good, and starting second is not too bad," he said.
Briton Mike Conway did not know whether to be happy or sad with his third position on the grid, having crashed into the barriers at Police immediately after setting his best time – which had briefly helped him top the timesheets.
“I did a 2m12s lap and after that I was just pushing a little bit too hard," he said. “It is my first time here, and I am happy with the result, but had that incident not happened then I know I could have been a lot quicker."
The session was stopped four times because of incidents. Fabio Carbone caused the first one when he spun and stopped in the middle of the circuit after clipping the barriers on the exit of Reservoir Bend.
Dan Clarke, Filip Salaquarda and Guillaume Moreau caused the second red flag when they collided at Police almost immediately after the first restart, while Charlie Kimball brought out the red flags for the third time when he spun at Police and blocked the track. The final crash, which brought the session to an early end and led to di Grassi’s penalty, was caused by Joao Paolo de Oliveira.
The ten-lap qualifying race will be held tomorrow and will determine the grid for the 52nd Macau Grand Prix on Sunday.
Pos Driver Make-Engine Time Laps
1. Loic Duval Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:11.348 17
2. Lucas Di Grassi Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:11.913 + 0.565 17
3. Robert Kubica Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:12.163 + 0.815 18
4. Mike Conway Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:12.254 + 0.906 9
5. Franck Perera Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:13.228 + 1.880 18
6. Paolo Montin Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:13.236 + 1.888 17
7. Joao P De Oliveira Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:13.247 + 1.899 14
8. Kazuki Nakajima Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:13.273 + 1.925 16
9. Guillaume Moreau Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:13.337 + 1.989 17
10. Naoki Yokomizo Dallara Nissan-Tomei 2:13.515 + 2.167 15
11. Sebastian Vettel Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:13.593 + 2.245 17
12. Charlie Kimball Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.000 + 2.652 13
13. Danny Watts Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:14.031 + 2.683 17
14. Christian Bakkerud Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.127 + 2.779 16
15. Kohei Hirate Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:14.280 + 2.932 18
16. Karl Reindler Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.283 + 2.935 18
17. Taku Bamba Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:14.728 + 3.380 17
18. Dan Clarke Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:14.768 + 3.420 14
19. Fabio Carbone SLC Opel-Spiess 2:14.806 + 3.458 2
20. Romain Grosjean Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:15.068 + 3.720 17
21. Stephen Jelley Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:15.083 + 3.735 19
22. Daisuke Ikeda Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:15.891 + 4.543 17
23. Steven Kane Lola Honda-Mugen/NB 2:16.052 + 4.704 11
24. Rodolfo Avila Dallara Mercedes HWA 2:17.219 + 5.871 15
25. Bruno Senna Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:17.461 + 6.113 3
26. Fillip Salaquarda Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:17.574 + 6.226 5
27. Michael Ho Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:18.117 + 6.769 16
28. Cheong Lou Meng Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:19.887 + 8.539 8
29. Lei Kit Meng Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:22.670 + 11.322 15
30. Jo Merszei Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:27.415 + 16.067 14
Combined results (grid for qualifying race):
Pos Driver Make-Engine Time Laps
1. Loic Duval Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:11.348 33
2. Lucas Di Grassi Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:11.913 + 0.565 34
3. Robert Kubica Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:12.163 + 0.815 34
4. Mike Conway Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:12.254 + 0.906 25
5. Franck Perera Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:13.228 + 1.880 18
6. Paolo Montin Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:13.236 + 1.888 30
7. Joao P De Oliveira Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:13.247 + 1.899 30
8. Kazuki Nakajima Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:13.273 + 1.925 24
9. Fabio Carbone SLC Opel-Spiess 2:13.306 + 1.958 18
10. Guillaume Moreau Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:13.337 + 1.989 35
11. Naoki Yokomizo Dallara Nissan-Tomei 2:13.515 + 2.167 30
12. Sebastian Vettel Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:13.593 + 2.245 34
13. Charlie Kimball Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.000 + 2.652 27
14. Danny Watts Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:14.031 + 2.683 33
15. Christian Bakkerud Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.127 + 2.779 33
16. Kohei Hirate Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:14.280 + 2.932 34
17. Karl Reindler Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:14.283 + 2.935 37
18. Taku Bamba Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:14.728 + 3.380 29
19. Dan Clarke Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:14.768 + 3.420 30
20. Romain Grosjean Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:14.847 + 3.499 36
21. Stephen Jelley Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:15.083 + 3.735 37
22. Bruno Senna Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:15.520 + 4.172 21
23. Daisuke Ikeda Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:15.891 + 4.543 34
24. Steven Kane Lola Honda-Mugen/NB 2:16.052 + 4.704 16
25. Rodolfo Avila Dallara Mercedes HWA 2:17.219 + 5.871 31
26. Fillip Salaquarda Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:17.574 + 6.226 21
27. Michael Ho Dallara Toyota-Tom's 2:18.117 + 6.769 30
28. Cheong Lou Meng Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:19.887 + 8.539 12
29. Lei Kit Meng Dallara Opel-Spiess 2:22.497 + 11.149 33
30. Jo Merszei Dallara Honda-Mugen/NB 2:24.177 + 12.829 25