Marrakesh WTCR: Guerrieri on pole for opener

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 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 Turn 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 he 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, while Volkswagens cars struggled during the session.

Rob Huff was the brand's lead representative in 16th, 0.761s off the pace, with team-mates Johan Kristoffersson - the double World Rallycross champion making his first WTCR qualifying appearance - and Mehdi Bennani 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.

Session results

Cla	#	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap
1	86	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	15	1'24.773
2	100	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	6	1'25.012	0.239
3	11	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	16	1'25.049	0.276
4	29	Nestor Girolami	Honda	14	1'25.109	0.336
5	111	Andy Priaulx	Lynk & Co	16	1'25.138	0.365
6	1	Gabriele Tarquini	Hyundai	15	1'25.174	0.401
7	69	Jean-Karl Vernay	Audi	16	1'25.177	0.404
8	18	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	16	1'25.202	0.429
9	68	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	14	1'25.221	0.448
10	37	Daniel Haglof	Cupra	13	1'25.227	0.454
11	31	Kevin Ceccon	Alfa Romeo	16	1'25.234	0.461
12	5	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	16	1'25.235	0.462
13	88	Nick Catsburg	Hyundai	14	1'25.246	0.473
14	96	Mikel Azcona	Cupra	20	1'25.454	0.681
15	21	Aurelien Panis	Cupra	14	1'25.504	0.731
16	12	Rob Huff	Volkswagen	16	1'25.534	0.761
17	8	Augusto Farfus	Hyundai	17	1'25.539	0.766
18	10	Niels Langeveld	Audi	10	1'25.551	0.778
19	50	Tom Coronel	Cupra	12	1'25.589	0.816
20	14	Johan Kristoffersson	Volkswagen	15	1'25.685	0.912
21	25	Mehdi Bennani	Volkswagen	14	1'25.690	0.917
22	55	Ma Qing Hua	Alfa Romeo	16	1'25.822	1.049
23	52	Gordon Shedden	Audi	17	1'25.918	1.145
24	22	Frederic Vervisch	Audi	10	1'26.232	1.459
25	33	Benjamin Leuchter	Volkswagen	17	1'26.510	1.737
26	9	Attila Tassi	Honda	10	1'26.522	1.749