Alain Menu has taken his fifth pole of the season. In the dying minutes of qualifying Yvan Muller looked to have secured prime position in Macau with a time of 2:31.395, but under the chequered flag Menu stormed a lap in 2:31.209. Muller will line up second with his SEAT Sport team-mate Gabriele Tarquini behind in third. Championship contender Augusto Farfus clocked the fourth best time (2:31.752) for BMW Team Germany but his colleague Jörg Müller had to settle for 15th on the grid. Andy Priaulx, who is currently co-leading the championship with Yvan Muller, qualified in twelfth place (2:32.685).
Lining up fourth on the grid will be Nicola Larini, who too has a chance of claiming the championship tomorrow. Jordi Gené and Rob Huff follow him in sixth and seventh positions.