Gabriele Tarquini went to Macau with a two-point lead over SEAT Sport teammate and reigning champion Yvan Muller.

Guia regular André Couto replaced João Paulo de Oliveira in the third SUNRED Engineering car.

[6] Huff set the quickest time in the second session ahead of BMW Team UK driver Andy Priaulx, Müller and Farfus.

[8] Championship rivals and SEAT Sport teammates Tarquini and Yvan Muller crashed in the second session that determines the starting order for the top ten positions.

[9] D'Aste also missed the races as his car was also badly damaged, as did Thompson's teammate Kirill Ladygin who also crashed during qualifying.

His fellow front-row starter Andy Priaulx dropped back from the rolling start and ran wide at the first turn, hitting the wall.

Monteiro also allowed title contender Yvan Muller through, before BMW drivers Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller also dropped back to finish seventh and eighth, giving them a front-row start for Race Two.

BMW Team Germany teammate Jörg Müller held off pressure from SEAT drivers Yvan Muller and Tiago Monteiro, while Tarquini had moved up to fifth position.

The race was red-flagged at the end of lap eight after a major accident at the final turn involving Felix Porteiro, Franz Engstler and André Couto.