Jorge Lorenzo claimed Yamaha’s first MotoGP pole position of the season as he edged Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone at Misano.
The double MotoGP world champion came through a hotly contested session with the Spaniard posting a best effort of 1:33.238s just five hundredths of a second quicker than Iannone.
Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi was third fastest just a hundredth adrift of the poleman, while reigning world champion Marc Marquez, who briefly held provisional pole, could only secure fourth spot on the grid.
The top 10 were covered by just seven tenths of a second.
Iannone put himself in prime position to record his maiden pole with his second run placing him at the top of the timesheets.
However, it was not enough as Lorenzo saved his best until last pipping the Italian by fraction of a second.
Marquez pushed hard to secure pole but his final effort fell 0.122s shy of Lorenzo’s personal best. The result is the first time he has failed to qualify on the front row since Catalunya Grand Prix last year.
Honda stablemate Dani Pedrosa will start from fifth on the ahead of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Monster Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro.
Forward Yamaha’s Aleix Esparagaro, Bradley Smith and LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl completed the top 10.
Meanwhile, in Moto3 Jack Miller secured pole position fort Sunday’s race as he looks to increase his championship lead which has been cut to just 13 points.
The Queenslander was just four thousandths of a second faster than Niklas Ajo, while title rival Alex Marquez claimed fourth place on the grid.
MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix Qualifying Results
Position | Rider | Team/Bike | Time | Gap |
1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | 1m33.238s | |
2 | Andrea Iannone | Pramac Ducati | 1m33.289s | +0.051s |
3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1m33.302s | +0.064s |
4 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1m33.360s | +0.122s |
5 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1m33.418s | +0.180s |
6 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1m33.439s | +0.201s |
7 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 Yamaha | 1m33.557s | +0.319s |
8 | Aleix Espargaro | Forward Yamaha | 1m33.713s | +0.475s |
9 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 Yamaha | 1m33.761s | +0.523s |
10 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda | 1m33.995s | +0.757s |
11 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Ducati | 1m34.283s | +1.045s |
12 | Alvaro Bautista | Gresini Honda | 1m34.640s | +1.402s |
13 | Cal Crutchlow | Ducati | 1m34.495s | Q1 |
14 | Scott Redding | Gresini Honda | 1m34.919s | Q1 |
15 | Hiroshi Aoyama | Aspar Honda | 1m34.966s | Q1 |
16 | Leon Camier | Aspar Honda | 1m35.275s | Q1 |
17 | Karel Abraham | Cardion Honda | 1m35.292s | Q1 |
18 | Michael Laverty | PBM Aprilia | 1m35.589s | Q1 |
19 | Alex de Angelis | Forward Yamaha | 1m35.679s | Q1 |
20 | Broc Parkes | PBM Aprilia | 1m36.317s | Q1 |
21 | Hector Barbera | Avintia FTR-Kawasaki | 1m36.689s | Q1 |
22 | Mike di Meglio | Avintia FTR-Kawasaki | 1m42.497s | Q1 |
23 | Danilo Petrucci | Ioda Aprilia | no time |