Alberto Cerqui scored his third pole position of his rookie International Superstars Series season in qualifying for round five at Misano, beating Team BMW Italia teammate Thomas Biagi to top spot by just six thousandths of a second.
Having topped the Friday test session and both free practice sessions on Saturday, the 19-year-old spent much of the session on top spot before Biagi moved into provisional pole in the closing stages. Cerqui then ensured he remained on top by beating Biagi at the very end of the session.
Luca Rangoni was an impressive third, the former World Touring Car Championship driver making his season debut in the championship in a Roma Racing Team Mercedes, four tenths behind the BMWs.
Rangoni was two tenths ahead of the regular frontrunning Mercedes drivers Luigi Ferrara (CAAL) and Max Pigoli (Romeo Ferraris).
Andrea Bertolini, double race winner in Donington, had to settle for sixth in his Swiss Team Maserati Quattroporte. The BMWs of Christian Montanari and Stefano Gabellini will share the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow's races.
Bertolini's teammate Alessandro Pier Guidi was ninth, with Johnny Herbert rounding out the top ten in his Mercedes.
The returning Gianni Morbidelli was 14th for Audi Sport Italia, having had engine problems in his RS4. His German teammate Thomas Schoffler, making his debut in the series this weekend, did not take part in the qualifying session. The same could be said for the new Lexus IS of Diego Romanini, which finally made its Superstars bow this weekend.
Qualifying results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Alberto Cerqui | Team BMW Italia | BMW M3 E92 | 1’41.255 | 6 | |
| 2 | Thomas Biagi | Team BMW Italia | BMW M3 E92 | 1’41.261 | 0.006 | 6 |
| 3 | Luca Rangoni | Roma Racing Team | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’41.656 | 0.401 | 7 |
| 4 | Luigi Ferrara | CAAL Racing | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’41.863 | 0.608 | 8 |
| 5 | Max Pigoli | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’41.892 | 0.637 | 9 |
| 6 | Andrea Bertolini | Swiss Team | Maserati Quattroporte | 1’41.913 | 0.658 | 7 |
| 7 | Christian Montanari | RGA Sportmanship | BMW M3 E92 | 1’41.981 | 0.726 | 9 |
| 8 | Stefano Gabellini | Team BMW Italia | BMW M3 E92 | 1’42.049 | 0.794 | 8 |
| 9 | Alessandro Pier Guidi | Swiss Team | Maserati Quattroporte | 1’42.242 | 0.987 | 8 |
| 10 | Johnny Herbert | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’42.534 | 1.279 | 11 |
| 11 | Andrea Dromedari | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’43.002 | 1.747 | 9 |
| 12 | Fabrizio Armetta | Motorzone Race Car | Chevrolet Lumina CR-8 | 1’43.020 | 1.765 | 11 |
| 13 | Francesco Sini | Ferlito Motors | Jaguar XF/R5.0 | 1’43.401 | 2.146 | 13 |
| 14 | Gianni Morbidelli | Audi Sport Italia | Audi RS4 | 1’43.597 | 2.342 | 2 |
| 15 | Michela Cerruti | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’43.608 | 2.353 | 11 |
| 16 | Riccardo Romagnoli | CAAL Racing | Mercedes C63 AMG | 1’43.719 | 2.464 | 11 |
| 17 | Sandro Bettini | Movisport | BMW M3 E90 | 1’43.809 | 2.554 | 7 |
| 18 | Mauro Cesari | MRT by Nocentini | Chrysler 300 C SRT-8 | 1’43.880 | 2.625 | 9 |
| 19 | Alex De Giacomi | Movisport | BMW M3 E90 | 1’44.022 | 2.767 | 8 |
| 20 | Sergio Hernandez | Campos Racing | BMW M3 E92 | 1’44.089 | 2.834 | 13 |
| 21 | Roberto Benedetti | RC Motorsport | Cadillac CTS V | 1’44.295 | 3.040 | 10 |
| 22 | Francesca Linossi | Movisport | BMW M3 E92 | 1’44.647 | 3.392 | 10 |
| 23 | Ermanno Dionisio | Audi Sport Italia | Audi RS4 | 1’45.104 | 3.849 | 12 |
| 24 | Luigi Cecchi | Ferlito Motors | Jaguar XF/R5.0 | 1’45.390 | 4.135 | 10 |
| 25 | Francesco Ascani | Movisport | BMW M3 E90 | 1’45.517 | 4.262 | 8 |
| 26 | Alessandro Garofano | RGA Sportmanship | BMW M3 E92 | 1’45.530 | 4.275 | 10 |
| 27 | Riccardo Bossi | Audi Sport Italia | Audi RS4 | 1’46.129 | 4.874 | 11 |
| 28 | Leonardo Baccarelli | CAAL Racing | BMW 550i E60 | 1’46.507 | 5.252 | 12 |
| 29 | Niccolo Mercatali | Movisport | BMW 550i E60 | 1’47.431 | 6.176 | 7 |
