Frijns will use a narrow window of 10 minutes of installation lapping before the start of today’s 12 lap qualifying race to confirm the repairs.

Frijns had been highly favoured to challenge for pole position after setting fastest time in the opening practice session.

However a brush with the wall cascaded into extensive right hand side panel damage as the car continued to impact with safety fencing.

Frijns’s crew repaired the car sufficiently to enable him to complete two final laps of the circuit at the end of the qualifying session and he will start today’s 12 lap qualifying race in seventeenth position.

Overnight the crew replaced all right hand side panels and replaced much of the car’s suspension as a precaution.

Four Mercedes-Benz drivers led by Edoardo Mortara have locked out the front of the quality grid for the qualifying race.

Frijns along with other teams caught out by the AMG onslaught have the ability to fight back in today’s race to secure stronger grid positions in tomorrow’s FIA GT World Cup.

Edoardo Mortara, twice F3 and three times GT winner at Macau has claimed pole position from his Mercedes-Benz team mate Daniel Juncadella, winner of the 2011 Macau F3 Grand Prix.

It was Mortara’s second successive pole at Macau, last year in an Audi.

Maro Engel, winner of the inaugural FIA GT World Cup, rounded out the top three in a Mercedes-Benz rout of qualifying with his team mate Raffaele Marciello in fourth.

All four drivers slammed beneath the 2m18s barrier with Mortara fastest on 2m17.565s, 0.282s clear of Juncadella.

Engel’s time of 2m17.946s was just 0.052s ahead of his team mate.

The first non-AMG car, Nico Muller (Audi Sport Team WRT R8) was fifth only 0.008s behind, from Augusto Farfus (Schnitzer BMW M6), sixth.

The 30-minute qualifying session, held in failing light, was a tribute to the professionalism of the experienced field.

Not one red flag was employed and when Macau rookie Robin Frijns (Audi R8LMS) hit the wall while fastest in the opening stages, he was able to limp back to the pits.

Frijns had been fastest in an early free practice and he was highly favoured to take a debutant pole.

Frijns team repaired the car in time to send him out for two flying laps at the end of the session but a last lap crash by defending champion Laurens Vanthoor restricted him to seventeenth position in the quality field.

Little more than a second separates the top 10 including Vanthoor, the first of the Porsche entrants in ninth position.

Double Macau F3 winner Felix Rosenqvist (Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488GT3) had been strong in early practice but a wrong decision on car set up restricted him to eleventh ,1.3s off pole.

FIA GT Commissioner Christian Schacht has claimed the field to be the best quality ever gathered at Macau.

“Their professionalism was evidenced in the way they respected each other in a flat out qualifying session, never blocking a car on a fast lap, “ Schacht said.

FIA GT Cup competitors face a 12-lap qualifying race before the 18 lap Cup.

Maro Engel laid down a lap of 2min 18.948secs as the chequered flag fell to claim fastest time from his team mate Raffaele Marciello, 2min 18.969.

Mercedes-Benz seized the top three positions in the 30minute session.

Edoardo Mortara, arguably the most successful Macau competitor in the field with two F3 and three GT victories, rounded out the top three with a 2min19.105secs in his Mercedes AMG Team Driving Academy AMG GT3.

It was Mortaro’s first time in Mercedes-Benz at Macau.

Engel’s fastest lap emphasised the benefit of experience at the Macau circuit.

He has specialised in Mercedes-Benz’ assault on both the FIA GT championship and the races which have preceded it.

Twice Formula 3 winner Felix Rosenqvist who has swapped to the GT category for the first time was sensational with fourth fastest in the only Ferrari in the field on 2min 19.249secs.

Macau debutante Robin Frinjs (Audi Sport Team WRT R8 LMS) was equally sensational claiming fifth fastest in his first ever sighting of the tough, narrow 6.12km track.

Seven makes are contesting the FIA GT World Cup.

Fastest BMW was Augusto Farfus (Schnitzer M6) in eighth position

Darryl O’Young claimed honours for Porsche in 10^th position from Craft Bamboo team mate, defending FIA GT World Cup champion Laurens Vanthoor, 12^th.

Mirko Bortolotti (FF Racing Team by ACM) was 13^th fastest for Lamborghini and Renger Van der Zande was 19^th on debut in the Honda NSX GT3.

Twice Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 winner Felix Rosenqvist is on a mission to test a Ferrari 488GT3 before he competes in his first FIA GT World Cup at the Guia circuit on November 19.

Rosenqvist, who turns 26 just a week before the Macau race, has decided to leave F3 to the “young guns”, despite his potential to become the first person to win three F3 races at the circuit.

Instead he and his manager, former Ferrari F1 driver Stefan Johansson, have secured a Ferrari from leading American team Scuderia Corso.

“The problem is the car is not available to me until first practice at Macau,” Rosenqvist said.

“That is too late to be learning a new car on a circuit like Macau, so we’re trying to find a 488GT3 somewhere in Europe in the next fortnight to get some miles in.”

Rosenqvist will face a strong field of another six factory supported teams  as well as three former Macau F3 winners who have also made the switch to GT.

Edoardo Mortara (AMG GT3) is the only driver who has so far won both F3 (2009-10) and GT (2011-13) to make him by far the most successful dual disciplined competitor at Macau.

Daniel Juncadella (AMG GT3), F3 winner in 2011 and Lucas Di Grassi (Audi R8), F3 winner in 2005 will both be attempting the double.

Rosenqvist successfully raced a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in 2016, taking second place at the Spa 24 hours and a round win in the Blancpain Endurance series.

“Macau will be a lot different in a GT car than it was in a F3,” he said.

“It is much harder to see where you are placing the car on the circuit and it is a much larger car on a tight track.”

Rosenqvist has resorted to computer simulation learning of the track but says it is of minimal value.

“Macau always changes a bit each year and it is a far more bumpy track in a GT car so the feeling is not the same.”

For Rosenqvist the greatest challenge lies in the penalty for making a mistake.

“If you hit a wall its nearly always possible to rebuild an F3 car between sessions,” he said.

“If you do the same in a GT car the damage will usually be so great that it’s impossible to repair in time.

“You cannot afford to miss out on track time at Macau because there is so much to learn and prepare.”

Rosenqvist’s challenge is heightened because he is competing in a one car team, limiting data collection and also the availability of replacement components.

“I rate myself as a potential winner,” he said.

“I’ll know more after the first practice session.

“The Balance of Performance (a parity formula to equalise the cars) should sort out any differences.

“The chance of safety cars and red flags means you must take every moment to push hard when the track is clear.”

The FIA GT World Cup allows two 30 minute free practice sessions, a 30 minute qualifying dash leading to a 12 lap qualifying race before the 18 lap World Cup decider.