Esteban Guerrieri secured the first pole position of the 2019 World Touring Car Cup, and his first in the WTCR, with a lap of 1m24.773.
The ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport driver finished the session over two tenths faster than Yvan Muller.
After both practice sessions being affected by a damp track, the fight for pole was very much open.
The grid headed out of the pits as soon as the green flag dropped in order to bank a lap early and avoid a red-flag disruption later in the session.
The 26 drivers had to work hard to find track position on the narrow Circuit Moulay El Hassan.
Yvan Muller set the early pace in the Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 03 TCR, further emphasising the pace of the new TCR car.
However, the 2018 runner-up proceeded to damage the underside of his car after running over the kerb at the tricky T5/6 chicane.
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport driver Guerrieri then knocked the four-time WTCC champion off the top having set fastest second and third sectors.
The Argentine’s lap of 1m24.773 was the fastest of the day, and Muller, undergoing repairs to his damaged oil sump, was unable to respond.
Cyan Racing’s Thed Björk who was fastest in the second practice, heads the second row with a time of 1m25.049.
Guerriri’s teammate Néstor Girolami took fourth, 0.336s slower than his teammate.
WTCR ‘rookie’ Andy Priaulx took fifth, and will be joined on the third row by reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini in the best of the BRC Racing Hyundais.
The Italian was limited by a suspected oil leak, adding to the engine misfire his Hyundai i30 N TCR car suffered in second practice.
However, he was able to head out in the closing minutes to secure a top ten position.
WRT’s Jean-Karl Vernay set a time good enough for seventh but was unable to improve after suffering a puncture in his Audi RS3 LMS TCR in the closing minutes.
KCMG driver Thiago Monteiro pipped Yann Ehrlacher to eighth by 0.019s, as WTCR rookie Daniel Haglöf rounded out the top ten 0.454s off Guerrieri’s pole time.
Despite being fastest earlier in the day, Aurélien Panis could only manage 15th fastest in his CUPRA.
The Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR cars of Rob Huff and Johan Kristoffersson, and the Alfa Romeo Guilietta Veloce TCR of Ma Qing Hua, suffered punctures as teams pushed tyre pressures to extract the best performance on the warmer track.
With only five drivers setting times a second slower than pole, the battle for victory in the first WTCR race this afternoon will be as close as ever.
The first race of the season gets underway at 16:50 local time (16:50 BST, 17:50 BST) and for UK viewers will be broadcast live on the BBC red button and online.
Qualifying result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 86 | Esteban GUERRIERI |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 15 | 1:24.773 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 100 | Yvan MULLER |  |
Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 6 | 1:25.012 | 0.239 |
| 3 | 11 | Thed BJÖRK |  |
Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 16 | 1:25.049 | 0.276 |
| 4 | 29 | Néstor GIROLAMI | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 14 | 1:25.109 | 0.336 |
| 5 | 111 | Andy PRIAULX |  |
Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 16 | 1:25.138 | 0.365 |
| 6 | 1 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 15 | 1:25.174 | 0.401 |
| 7 | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY | |
Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 16 | 1:25.177 | 0.404 |
| 8 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
KCMG | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 16 | 1:25.202 | 0.429 |
| 9 | 68 | Yann EHRLACHER | |
Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 14 | 1:25.221 | 0.448 |
| 10 | 37 | Daniel HAGLÖF | |
PWR Racing | CUPRA TCR | 13 | 1:25.227 | 0.454 |
| 11 | 31 | Kevin CECCON | |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 16 | 1:25.234 | 0.461 |
| 12 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 16 | 1:25.235 | 0.462 |
| 13 | 88 | Nicky CATSBURG |  |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 14 | 1:25.246 | 0.473 |
| 14 | 96 | Mikel AZCONA |  |
PWR Racing | CUPRA TCR | 20 | 1:25.454 | 0.681 |
| 15 | 21 | Aurélien PANIS | |
Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing | CUPRA TCR | 14 | 1:25.504 | 0.731 |
| 16 | 12 | Rob HUFF | |
SLR VW Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 16 | 1:25.534 | 0.761 |
| 17 | 8 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 17 | 1:25.539 | 0.766 |
| 18 | 10 | Niels LANGEVELD | |
Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 1:25.551 | 0.778 |
| 19 | 50 | Tom CORONEL | |
Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing | CUPRA TCR | 12 | 1:25.589 | 0.816 |
| 20 | 14 | Johan KRISTOFFERSSON | |
SLR Volkswagen | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 15 | 1:25.685 | 0.912 |
| 21 | 25 | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
SLR VW Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 14 | 1:25.690 | 0.917 |
| 22 | 55 | Ma QING HUA |  |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 16 | 1:25.822 | 1.049 |
| 23 | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 17 | 1:25.918 | 1.145 |
| 24 | 22 | Frédéric VERVISCH |  |
Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 10 | 1:26.232 | 1.459 |
| 25 | 33 | Benjamin LEUCHTER |  |
SLR Volkswagen | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 17 | 1:26.510 | 1.737 |
| 26 | 9 | Attila TASSI | |
KCMG | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 10 | 1:26.522 | 1.749 |