Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Luca Engstler became the first-ever pole sitter in the TCR Middle East Series in Dubai, after beating team-mate Mat’o Homola to the top time in qualifying.
The young German beat Homola to the top time by just under half a second with his effort of 2 minutes 10.133 seconds, before Engstler pipped him near the end of the session.
Slovakian ace Homola’s lap of 2:10.632 proved to be good enough for second, with Brandon Gdovic in third making it an Engstler Motorsport 1-2-3 in the United Arab Emirates.
Michela Cerruti put her Alfa Romeo Giulietta in fourth on her return to racing, with the Italian ace just 0.926 seconds off the pace.
The Subaru WRX STi of Top Run Motorsport showed encouraging pace at the hands of Luigi Ferrara, who put the car in fifth, just 0.926 seconds slower than the pole lap with a time identical to that of Cerruti, who posted the time first.
The first-ever competitive outing of the new Audi RS3 LMS saw the car end up in seventh at the hands of Cadspeed Racing’s James Kaye, behind the fourth Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen of Filip Sládecka.
Engstler Motorsport’s Stefan Goede and Red Camel SEAT’s Kane Astin completed the field of nine qualifiers.
Qualifying times
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 8 | Luca ENGSTLER |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | 2:10.133 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 9 | Mat’o HOMOLA |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 6 | 2:10.632 | 0.499 |
| 3 | 46 | Brandon GDOVIC |  |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | 2:10.759 | 0.626 |
| 4 | 88 | Michela CERRUTI |  |
Mulsanne Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 7 | 2:11.059 | 0.926 |
| 5 | 12 | Luigi FERRARA | |
Top Run Motorsport | Subaru WRX STi TCR | 7 | 2:11.059 | 0.926 |
| 6 | 11 | Filip SLÁDECKA | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 2 | 2:12.213 | 2.080 |
| 7 | 108 | James KAYE |  |
CadSpeed Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 4 | 2:12.254 | 2.121 |
| 8 | 7 | Stefan GOEDE | |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 5 | 2:12.959 | 2.826 |
| 9 | 303 | Kane ASTIN | |
Red Camel-Jordans.nl | SEAT León TCR DSG | 3 | 2:14.899 | 4.766 |