Rookie sensation Jorge Martin has clinched pole position as Ducati secured a MotoGP front-row lockout for the Valencia Grand Prix.
Having held sway following the initial runs in Q2, Jack Miller was on a last-ditch lap that might just have delivered the second pole of his premier class career until crashing out at Turn 11.
The Australian thus had to settle for third, behind fellow Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia who also crashed in the dying minutes.
Miller burst of the blocks in Q2 with the fastest lap of the weekend, a 1:30.479s, on his first attempt.
He then went faster again his second time around with a 1:30.325s – only for Martin to exactly match that effort and move into provisional second.
Gunning for six straight poles, Bagnaia lowered the benchmark to a 1:30.118s and then again to 1:30.000s before dropping his #63 at Turn 2.
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Martin then pounced with a 1:29.936s, which proved good enough for the fourth pole of his young MotoGP career.
The Spaniard’s Pramac Racing team-mate Johann Zarco made it four Ducatis in the top five, with Suzuki team-mates Joan Mir and Alex Rins also booking second-row slots.
Like Rins, Brad Binder went about things the hard way by having to go through Q1 but mustered seventh on the gird, ahead of champion-elect Fabio Quartararo and Free Practice 4 pace-setter Takaaki Nakagami.
Valentino Rossi managed 10th in the final qualifying session of his MotoGP career, with Petronas Yamaha SRT team-mate Andrea Dovizioso to start 13th having gone close to making Q2.
The Italian had looked a chance of progressing out of Q1 before Binder displaced him, joining Rins in the top two.
Dovizioso will thus share the fifth row with Maverick Viñales and Iker Lecuona, who just outqualified fellow outgoing Tech3 KTM Factory Racing rider Danilo Petrucci.
Alex Marquez crashed out at Turn 2, resigning him to 19th, only ahead of a struggling Miguel Oliveira and Pol Espargaro.
The latter entered Valencia as the sole Repsol Honda Team entry, but did not take part in qualifying after a brutal Free Practice 3 highside at Turn 13.
The season-ending race will get underway at midnight tomorrow (AEDT).
Results: MotoGP qualifying, Valencia Grand Prix
| Pos | Number | Rider | Team | Marque | Best time | Gap |
| 1 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1:29.936 | |
| 2 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1:30.000 | +0.064 |
| 3 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1:30.325 | +0.389 |
| 4 | 36 | Joan Mir | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1:30.395 | +0.459 |
| 5 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1:30.418 | +0.482 |
| 6 | 42 | Alex Rins | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 1:30.475 | +0.539 |
| 7 | 33 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:30.509 | +0.573 |
| 8 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha | 1:30.620 | +0.684 |
| 9 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | 1:30.644 | +0.708 |
| 10 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1:30.746 | +0.810 |
| 11 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha | 1:30.781 | +0.845 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1:31.024 | +1.088 |
| 13 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1:30.859 | Q1 |
| 14 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1:30.991 | Q1 |
| 15 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:30.994 | Q1 |
| 16 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:31.045 | Q1 |
| 17 | 10 | Luca Marini | Sky VR46 Avintia | Ducati | 1:31.073 | Q1 |
| 18 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama | Ducati | 1:31.185 | Q1 |
| 19 | 73 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | 1:31.251 | Q1 |
| 20 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:31.319 | Q1 |
| 21 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | – | – |
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