Rob Huff has claimed pole position for the Main Race at FIA WTCC AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco in a one-two-three qualifying result for Honda.
It is the British driver’s first pole position since 2012. As fourth quickest in Q2, Huff was the first of the Honda trio to attempt a Q3 lap of the new-look Circuit Moulay El Hassan, but his benchmark remained unbeaten by both Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro as well as Citroën’s José María López.
Michelisz was 0.036 seconds slower than Huff, with Monteiro 0.119s off the pace in third. López had to settle for fourth, 0.281s away from pole, with Nicky Catsburg taking fifth for LADA.
Yvan Muller failed to make Q3 and will start sixth for the Main Race in front of Tom Coronel, who took top spot in the WTCC Trophy. Thed Björk, Hugo Valente and James Thompson completed the top 10, with Thompson set to start on pole for the Opening Race.
Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Chilton are set to share row six for both races. Fredrik Ekblom was eliminated in Q1 in 13th, as was the home hero Mehdi Bennani in 14th. French drivers John Filippi and Grégoire Demoustier also had an early exit, while Ferenc Ficza did not take part in qualifying.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Q1 time | Q2 time | Q3 time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Huff | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:21.750 | 1:21.740 | 1:21.743 |
| 2 | Norbert Michelisz | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:22.059 | 1:21.463 | 1:21.779 |
| 3 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:21.934 | 1:21.467 | 1:21.862 |
| 4 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:21.818 | 1:21.457 | 1:22.024 |
| 5 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:21.970 | 1:22.104 | 1:22.161 |
| — | ---------- | -------- | -------- | -------- | --------- | --------- |
| 6 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:22.120 | 1:22.115 | |
| 7 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:22.438 | 1:22.194 | |
| 8 | Thed Bjork | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | 1:22.182 | 1:22.237 | |
| 9 | Hugo Valente | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:22.584 | 1:22.251 | |
| 10 | James Thomson | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:22.536 | 1:22.455 | |
| 11 | Gabriele Tarquini | LADA Sport | Lada | 1:22.345 | 1:22.575 | |
| 12 | Tom Chilton | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:22.537 | 1:22.658 | |
| — | ---------- | -------- | -------- | -------- | --------- | --------- |
| 13 | Fredrik Ekblom | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | 1:22.656 | ||
| 14 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:22.709 | ||
| 15 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:23.020 | ||
| 16 | Grégoire Demoustier | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:23.541 | ||
| 17 | Ferenc Ficza | Zengo | Honda | -:—.--- |