Daniel Ticktum has claimed pole position in the final FIA F3 World Cup qualifying session for Saturday's Macau GP qualification race after putting in two stunning efforts at the end of the session which saw him claim a new lap record with a 2:09.910.
The British driver took his time to build-up his times through the heavily interrupted 40-minute session and was as low as ninth place.
Ticktum did initially jump to the top of the timesheet with a low 2:10 but went straight onto another flying lap for a final run only to go even faster, breaking the lap record around the Guia circuit.
Compatriot Callum Ilott had initially headed the timesheets before Ticktum's final runs and will line-up alongside the Euro F3 runner-up on the front row.
As Ilott headed to the pits after his final run, he somehow narrowly avoided the stricken Motopark car of Marino Sato on the exit of the tight Police corner which could have brought out the red flag to end the session.
Pau Grand Prix winner Sacha Fenestraz used his street circuit experience wisely as the Frenchman snuck into third place to head up the second row on the grid for Carlin ahead Saturday's qualifying race.
Joel Eriksson ended the session in fourth, but had spent most of the session at the top of the timesheets and looked to improve his time on his final run, however, as he came around the final corner Ukyo Sasahara had already hit the wall on the exit and left the Swede with nowhere to go but to crash into the ThreeBond Racing car.
Guan Yu Zhou is the first of the SJM Prema Theodore cars who left his best run until the end of the session, Britain's Jake Hughes will join him on the third row in sixth place for Hitech GP.
Sato had been able to complete a time worthy of seventh place before binning his Motopark car into the wall at Police, Marcus Armstrong in the second Prema will start alongside the Japanese driver in eighth.
Reigning Euro F3 champion Mick Schumacher was never able to piece together a clean lap over the course of the session locking up into Moorish on one run early on, he then later locked up into Lisboa on another run.
The German was as high as fourth at one stage but slipped down the order late on and will have to start in ninth.
Estonia's Ralf Aron rounds out the top 10 for SJM Prema Theodore Racing.