Marc Marquez secured his 13th pole position of the MotoGP season after pipping Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The new double world champion was the first man to lap the Sepang circuit under the two minute barrier during a MotoGP weekend at the venue.
The factory Honda squad dominated the session with just a fraction of a second separating Marquez and Pedrosa.
In the end, Marquez came through to secure pole position with a session best 1.59.791s effort, which was just 0.182s ahead of Pedrosa.
Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo claimed the final spot on the front row with the double world champion more than four tenths adrift of the all conquering Honda duo.
LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl produced a last ditch effort to secure fourth on the grid ahead of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi.
Forward Yamaha’s Aleix Espargaro will start from seventh on the grid alongside Cal Crutchlow and Monster Yamaha’s Bradley Smith.
Gresini Honda’s Alvaro Bautista rounded out the top 10 while Australia’s Broc Parkes will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from 22nd position.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro, who suffered a fracture to his left foot following a nasty crash in third practice session, is yet to confirm if he will make Sunday’s race.
Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone has withdrawn from the event after sustaining an arm injury in a practice tangle with Marquez on Friday.
In Moto3, Jack Miller once again produced a stunning performance to grab his eighth pole position of the season.
The Townsville teenager was more than four tenths of a second quicker than nearest rival John McPhee.
Championship leader Alex Marquez qualified in fifth behind Efren Vazquez and Jakub Kornfeil.