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Jorge Lorenzo obliterated the qualifying record to claim pole position for the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.
Lorenzo stripped 0.6s off the mark he set twelve months earlier at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, and will be joined on the front row by Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi.
The dethroned world champion shot out of the blocks with the first ever sub-90 second lap at the Spanish track and improved on each of his subsequent flying laps during a three-run strategy.
“All the riders are impressively fast in the qualifying,” remarked Lorenzo after his final qualifying session for Yamaha.
“I don’t know where we found the force to go so fast but finally in qualifying everyone put some extra and to go into (1:)29.4 is amazing.”
Marquez also looked for three runs after an early run-in with Ducati’s Andrea Iannone.
The Repsol Honda rider threatened to steal pole after the chequered flag but fell short and will line up in the middle of the front row.
Rossi (Yamaha) was the best of the rest, having made inroads following an uncompetitive showing in Friday practice.
Maverick Viñales (Suzuki), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), and Pol Espargaro (Tech 3 Yamaha) form the second row, with Andrea Iannone qualifying seventh.
Dani Pedrosa (Honda) will start in eighth on the grid on his return from collarbone and leg injuries, surviving a crash during Free Practice 4.
Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) did likewise during Q2 on their way to ninth and 11th respectively.
Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Yamaha) rounded out the top 10, while Australia’s Jack Miller (Marc VDS Honda) starts from 15th position.
The final race of the 2016 championship will be held over 30 laps.
Result: MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix Qualifying
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1’29.401 | |
| 2 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’29.741 | 0.340 / 0.340 |
| 3 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1’30.128 | 0.727 / 0.387 |
| 4 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 1’30.276 | 0.875 / 0.148 |
| 5 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’30.338 | 0.937 / 0.062 |
| 6 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’30.392 | 0.991 / 0.054 |
| 7 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’30.420 | 1.019 / 0.028 |
| 8 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’30.574 | 1.173 / 0.154 |
| 9 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 1’30.885 | 1.484 / 0.311 |
| 10 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’30.949 | 1.548 / 0.064 |
| 11 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 1’31.030 | 1.629 / 0.081 |
| 12 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 1’31.203 | 1.802 / 0.173 |
| 13 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1’30.894 | Q1 / Q1 |
| 14 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 1’31.406 | Q1 / 0.512 |
| 15 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 1’31.686 | Q1 / 0.280 |
| 16 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1’31.749 | Q1 / 0.063 |
| 17 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1’31.813 | Q1 / 0.064 |
| 18 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1’31.847 | Q1 / 0.034 |
| 19 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Pull & Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 1’31.956 | Q1 / 0.109 |
| 20 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1’32.092 | Q1 / 0.136 |
| 21 | Tito RABAT | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 1’32.181 | Q1 / 0.089 |
| 22 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Pull & Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 1’32.240 | Q1 / 0.059 |
