Pol Espargaro took his first Moto2 pole position in qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The 21-year-old Spaniard knocked home hero Scott Redding off the top spot with eight minutes to go and then resisted a late charge by Andrea Iannone to hold on to pole.
Behind the Pons Kalex rider, Iannone was 0.385 seconds slower on his Speed Master Speed Up, while Marc VDS Kalex man Redding – his last lap ruined when he came across a slowing Thomas Luthi at Chapel – fell to third by the end.
Bradley Smith made it two British riders inside the top four on his Tech 3, while Marc Marquez (Monlau Suter) and Claudio Corti (Italtrans Kalex) completed the top six.
Championship leader Luthi will start seventh on his Paddock Suter.
Max Neukirchner, Julian Simon and Esteve Rabat all crashed.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Pol Espargaro Pons Kalex 2m08.011s
2. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Speed Up 2m08.396s + 0.385s
3. Scott Redding Marc VDS Kalex 2m08.616s + 0.605s
4. Bradley Smith Tech 3 2m08.844s + 0.833s
5. Marc Marquez Monlau Suter 2m08.864s + 0.853s
6. Claudio Corti Italtrans Kalex 2m08.883s + 0.872s
7. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter 2m09.120s + 1.109s
8. Johann Zarco JIR Motobi 2m09.353s + 1.342s
9. Alex de Angelis Forward Suter 2m09.639s + 1.628s
10. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR 2m09.776s + 1.765s
11. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter 2m09.801s + 1.790s
12. Randy Krummenacher Switzerland Kalex 2m09.830s + 1.819s
13. Roberto Rolfo Technomag-CIP Suter 2m09.994s + 1.983s
14. Gino Rea Gresini Suter 2m10.077s + 2.066s
15. Mike di Meglio Speed Master Speed Up 2m10.080s + 2.069s
16. Max Neukirchner Kiefer Kalex 2m10.092s + 2.081s
17. Takaaki Nakagami Italtrans Kalex 2m10.154s + 2.143s
18. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Kalex 2m10.202s + 2.191s
19. Ratthapark Wilairot Gresini Suter 2m10.276s + 2.265s
20. Esteve Rabat Pons Kalex 2m10.298s + 2.287s
21. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 2m10.383s + 2.372s
22. Toni Elias Aspar Suter 2m10.473s + 2.462s
23. Angel Rodriguez SAG Bimota 2m10.921s + 2.910s
24. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 2m10.987s + 2.976s
25. Ricard Cardus Arguinano AJR 2m11.383s + 3.372s
26. Julian Simon Avintia Suter 2m11.654s + 3.643s
27. Nicolas Terol Aspar Suter 2m11.713s + 3.702s
28. Yuki Takahashi Forward Suter 2m11.764s + 3.753s
29. Alexander Lundh MZ 2m12.084s + 4.073s
30. Anthony West QMMF Moriwaki 2m13.265s + 5.254s
31. Marco Colandrea SAG FTR 2m13.502s + 5.491s
32. Alessandro Andreozzi Andreozzi FTR 2m14.633s + 6.622s
33. Eric Granado JIR Motobi 2m14.803s + 6.792s
34. Elena Rosell QMMF Moriwaki 2m15.024s + 7.013s