Points leader Jorge Lorenzo will start the third round of the MotoGP World Championship in Portugal from pole position after setting the fastest time in the closing stages of qualifying.
The Yamaha Factory Racing rider left it until two minutes before the end of the hour-long session at Estoril before setting a time of one minute 37.161 seconds to grab pole from Marco Simoncelli.
The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider had been fastest for most of the session to continue the form he had shown by being quickest on Friday.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa completed the front row, with his team-mate Casey Stoner and Lorenzo's team-mate Ben Spies on the second row along with Andrea Dovizioso on the third Repsol Honda.
Row three sees Colin Edwards joined by Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Cal Crutchlow, the latter making his return to the track after an operation aimed at preventing swelling to his arm which had hampered him during the first two rounds of the series.
Ducati's Valentino Rossi was a surprisingly slow ninth quickest to complete the third row.
Lorenzo was pleased to set the fastest time but refused to get carried away.
He said: ‘The most important thing is the race though, not that I have 43 pole position starts.
‘This track is strange to ride on, quite old with lots of holes so you have to ride with care.
‘I need a good start tomorrow, be focused, intelligent and have good luck. The bike is improving, it's much better in fast corners but we could be faster on the straight.’
Moto GP rd 3, Estoril, Portugal
Leading final positions after Final Qualifying Moto GP:
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha 1min 37.161secs, 2 Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 1:37.294, 3 Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Honda 1:37.324, 4 Casey Stoner (Aus) Honda 1:37.384, 5 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 1:37.866, 6 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda 1:38.073, 7 Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1:38.080, 8 Cal Crutchlow (Gbr) Yamaha 1:38.189, 9 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Ducati 1:38.271, 10 Hector Barbera (Spa) Ducati 1:38.363, 11 Hiroshi Aoyama (Jpn) Honda 1:38.497, 12 Karel Abraham (Cze) Ducati 1:38.786, 13 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati 1:38.922, 14 Loris Capirossi (Ita) Ducati 1:38.934, 15 Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Suzuki 1:39.172.
