Enrique Bernoldi took his first pole in the GT1 World Championship in qualifying for his home round at Interlagos, but while Bernoldi and teammate Xandi Negrao will start first in the No. 2 Vitaphone Maserati, the squad's championship-leading No. 1 car was only 19th.
Andrea Bertolini blamed a small mistake and the effects of success ballast for the lack of pace from the MC12 that he shares with Michael Bartels.
Bertolini and Bartels still have a comfortable 35-point cushion and can wrap up the title this weekend. Their nearest rival Thomas Mutsch qualified fifth with teammate Richard Westbrook in the Matech Ford, but the duo will take a three-place penalty carried over from an incident at Navarra.
Nicky Pastorelli and Dominik Schwager missed out on pole by just 0.027sec in the All-Inkl/Munnich Lamborghini, while the Tomas Enge/Darren Turner Young Driver Aston Martin was also in the thick of the Q3 fight and starts third, alongside Marc Hennerici and Alex Margaritis' Phoenix/Carsport Corvette.
Leading Nissan drivers Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm (Sumo Power) will move up to fifth when the Matech Ford's penalty takes effect.
Local guest entrants Daniel Serra (Triple H Maserati) and Sergio Jimenez (Mad-Croc Corvette) had starred with first and second in Q1, but their respective gentleman driver partners Francisco Longo and Claudio Dahruj could only manage eighth-row spots when they took over for Q2.
Pos Drivers Car Time Session
1. Bernoldi/Negrao Maserati 1m32.060s Q3
2. Schwager/Pastorelli Lamborghini 1m32.087s Q3
3. Enge/Turner Aston Martin 1m32.169s Q3
4. Hennerici/Margaritis Corvette 1m32.410s Q3
5. Westbrook/Mutsch Ford 1m32.468s Q3
6. Dumbreck/Krumm Nissan 1m32.500s Q3
7. Zonta/Kechele Lamborghini 1m32.516s Q3
8. Jani/Armindo Ford 1m32.773s Q3
9. Bobbi/Palttala Ford 1m33.174s Q2
10. Piccione/Hirschi Aston Martin 1m33.192s Q2
11. Martin/Leinders Ford 1m33.488s Q2
12. Campbell-Walter/Hughes Nissan 1m33.559s Q2
13. Wendlinger/Moser Nissan 1m33.814s Q2
14. Makowiecki/Clairay Aston Martin 1m34.120s Q2
15. Jimenez/Dahruj Corvette 1m35.076s Q2
16. Serra/Longo Maserati 1m35.948s Q2
17. Huisman/Kuismanen Corvette 1m33.131s Q1
18. Kox/Haase Lamborghini 1m33.320s Q1
19. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati 1m33.331s Q1
20. Nygaard/Mucke Aston Martin 1m33.386s Q1
21. Ara/Nilsson Nissan 1m33.497s Q1
22. Bouchut/Basseng Lamborghini 1m33.592s Q1
23. Heger/Muller Maserati 1m33.857s Q1