Qualifying for the 58th Macau Grand Prix took place on November 18. The weather forecast predicted rain and, true to form, there were misty droplets falling from the morning. The rain stopped just after eight o'clock and little patches of blue sky began to appear though the clouds. Then, at around 9 a.m. the sun came out, allowing the track surface to dry.

All of the teams in the paddock, located in an underground parking area, had prepared their cars for wet conditions. However, because the weather had markedly improved, every team had to quickly change to slick tyres before the qualifying session began at 10:10.

Every entrant ran carefully in their first laps as they confirmed track conditions. At the time, the Knight Sports RX-8 had its suspension set up for the wet, and there was no way to change the car's suspension to a dry setting. Therefore, the RX-8 had only its tyres replaced with dry slicks before heading back out on track.

RX-8 Driver Mr. Tatsuya Taniguchi said, "The racing line on the straight section is perfectly dry, but there are still some slightly wet parts on the mountain side - and that's where the 4WD cars are faster."
The RX-8 showed good pace and steadily improved its lap times. However, clutch trouble occurred before the end of the session. In the end, the Knight Sports RX-8 with Tanigawa at the wheel took 5th position.

Tanigawa: "It was a clear lap and I expected a good lap time. But the clutch pedal didn't return after I put my foot on it. I felt it was caught on something. However, even if I'd had no trouble today, it would have been difficult to take pole position under these track conditions. I believe I can make a good start in the race - whether I'm on pole, in 4th or in 5th position. So I shouldn't have any problem making a good start in the race."

The RX-7 and its driver Mr. Kevin Tse had no trouble and ran well, taking 12th position.