Moscow WTCC: Yvan Muller on pole for series' Russian debut

Storm clouds had threatened the first part of the knockout format, but held off until Q2 started, effectively turning qualifying into a one-lap shootout.

It was Muller who profited most, moving to the top of the timesheets with a 1m43.335s.

Tom Coronel had gone faster in Q1, becoming the first man to dip into the 1m42s bracket, but he had to settle for second as rain denied the field a second stab at pole.

Rob Huff, who had been at risk of missing the cut in Q1 following a raft of late improvements, grabbed third in the Munnich SEAT, little more than one tenth of a second off Muller.

Norbert Michelisz had been the last man to make Q2, but came good in the shootout and ended fourth, the highest Honda.

Works stable-mate Gabriele Tarquini, who likewise only booked a Q2 slot in the final moments, will start behind him in fifth, alongside Lada's James Thompson.

The third Civic of Tiago Monteiro suffered a repeat of the water pump problems that spoiled his final practice session, leaving the Portuguese 22nd.

Pepe Oriola and Michel Nykjaer took seventh and eighth, with Charles Ng and Mehdi Bennani claiming the front row for Sunday's reverse-grid second race.

James Nash and Tom Chilton, the latter of whom had led the field across the line in Q2, had to settle for 11th and 12th respectively.

Nash's lap was undone when he ran wide through Turns 9 and 10, which consequently bunched up those behind him as he fought to rejoin.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car          Time       Gap
 1.  Yvan Muller         RML Chevrolet     1m43.335s
 2.  Tom Coronel         ROAL BMW          1m43.405s  + 0.070s
 3.  Rob Huff            Munnich SEAT      1m43.466s  + 0.131s
 4.  Norbert Michelisz   Zengo Honda       1m43.772s  + 0.437s
 5.  Gabriele Tarquini   Honda             1m43.840s  + 0.505s
 6.  James Thompson      Lada              1m43.982s  + 0.647s
 7.  Pepe Oriola         Tuenti SEAT       1m43.992s  + 0.657s
 8.  Michel Nykjaer      Nika Chevrolet    1m44.157s  + 0.822s
 9.  Charles Ng          Engstler BMW      1m44.421s  + 1.086s
10.  Mehdi Bennani       Proteam BMW       1m44.438s  + 1.103s
11.  James Nash          Bamboo Chevrolet  1m45.119s  + 1.784s
12.  Tom Chilton         RML Chevrolet     1m45.240s  + 1.905s
13.  Fredy Barth         Wiechers BMW      1m43.850s  Q1
14.  Fernando Monje      Campos SEAT       1m44.040s  Q1
15.  Darryl O'Young      ROAL BMW          1m44.060s  Q1
16.  Nikolay Karamishev  Campos SEAT       1m44.138s  Q1
17.  Marc Basseng        Munnich SEAT      1m44.150s  Q1
18.  Alex MacDowall      Bamboo Chevrolet  1m44.193s  Q1
19.  Stefano D'Aste      PB BMW            1m44.265s  Q1
20.  Mikhail Kozlovskiy  Lada              1m44.435s  Q1
21.  Franz Engstler      Engstler BMW      1m44.476s  Q1
22.  Tiago Monteiro      Honda             1m44.610s  Q1
23.  Rene Munnich        Munnich SEAT      1m44.685s  Q1