Ma Qing Hua fastest in Qualifying at Macau

Ma Qing Hua was fastest of all in TCR Asia Qualifying at Macau, and the Shell Teamwork Lynk & Co Racing driver will start from pole position in tomorrow’s Race 1 ahead of Macanese driver Filipe de Souza’s Audi RS 3 LMS.
The session got off to a slow start, with spins for both Honda drivers Wu Wai Hung and Jason Mok Tsz Wang.
De Souza set the first competitive time for pole position with a time of 2:33.023, just ahead of Andy Yan’s Team TRC Honda, before the red flags were out after Wu Wai Hung crashed his Honda out at Moorish bend.
The session restarted with just 13 minutes to go, and the field scrambled out for a final run, with traffic a major issue for the 30 competitors around the 6.2km street circuit.
TCR Asia series points leader Zhang Zhi Qiang managed to split de Souza and Yan briefly, while his team-mate Ma Qing Hua was able to grab pole with just a minute left to go with a time of 2:31.545, nearly 1.5 seconds clear of de Souza.
Yan managed a late improvement also to move his Honda back up to third ahead of Zhang, with Sunny Wong’s Teamwork Lynk & Co completing the top five.
Ma’s pole sees him claim back one point on title rival Zhang in the championship standings, with the gap now 21 points heading into tomorrow’s first race at 14:55 local time (7:55 CET).

Macau – Qualifying
2:31.545 Ma Qing Hua (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)
2:33.023 Filipe De Souza (Sonic Racing Team, Audi RS 3 LMS)
2:33.244 Andy Yan Cheuk Wai (Team TCR, Honda Civic Type R FK7)
2:33.268 Zhang Zhi Qiang (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)
2:35.702 Sunny Wong Yat Shin (Shell Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03)

Championship standings
1. Zhang Zhi Qiang 217; 2. Ma Qing Hua 196; 3. Zhang Zhen Dong 108

Picture: Macau Grand Prix