Jack Miller felt he was engaging in a high-speed game of Russian roulette as he claimed his first front-row start as a factory KTM rider for the Spanish GP in Jerez.

The Australian held provisional pole on the Red Bull RC16 until the dying seconds, when Aleix Espargaro went top for Aprilia Racing by two-tenths.

Miller held onto second spot and will now be looking to stake his claim for victory in the Sprint race on Saturday after a challenging qualifying session, with light rain before the start leaving some parts of the track treacherous.

“The track was getting better and better lap by lap, and corner by corner,” said Miller, who claimed his second ever premier class success at Jerez on the factory Ducati in 2021.

“At the beginning you couldn’t touch any white lines but at the end you could on a few, while with some it was like you were playing Russian roulette with them because you didn’t know which one was good, which one was bad.

“Lap by lap you pushed your luck a little bit more and it was a matter of timing,” he added.

“We tried our best and continued to push until the end, but I’m very happy to be back on the front row – first time for me with KTM – so it’s a massive bonus, especially around here in Jerez, which is a super hard track to pass on.”

On his prospects for the Sprint showdown, Miller said he was ‘feeling good’.

“I’m looking forward to the Sprint race and I feel good, the tyres are hanging in there really well.

“I’ve been putting in some solid runs, so you never know – we’ll see.”

KTM have never had a podium in MotoGP in Jerez but Miller has been right in the thick of the action in qualifying, while wildcard Dani Pedrosa is rolling back the years after the KTM test rider topped Practice 1 on Friday before qualifying in sixth.

Brad Binder, a Sprint winner in Argentina, will also fancy his chances on the Red Bull KTM machine as he heads up the second row in fourth.

Read the Spanish GP Qualifying report here.