Satellite Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo has claimed a second career MotoGP pole in Catalunya while Jack Miller failed to advance to Qualifying 2 after a crash.

Quartararo’s 1:39.484s was 0.015s than Marc Marquez’s best effort, while a trio of Yamahas headed up by that of Maverick Viñales fill third to fifth positions.

The two Petronas SRT Yamahas sat atop the timesheets at the end of the first runs in Q2, although it was Franco Morbidelli heading rookie Quartararo.

Viñales was first to start his second run and moved into the lead with a 1:39.710s on the #12 Monster Energy Yamaha, seconds before Quartararo came through to set what would be the benchmark time.

Marquez was fifth after the first runs and improved to second position on his penultimate flyer, but missed out on another chance to snatch pole when he then nearly highsided his Repsol Honda at Turn 4.

Morbidelli found no improvement when he left pit lane again, and would prove a single thousandth of a second too slow to make the front row.

It was still a commendable performance from the Italian given that he had experienced a major highside in Free Practice 3 earlier in the day, and come through Qualifying 1, while team-mate Quartararo had undergone arm pump surgery early in the week.

Fifth went to Valentino Rossi on the second factory Yamaha, while Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) could only move himself from the outside of the third row to the outside of the second row with the chequered flag out.

In doing so, he pushed team-mate Danilo Petrucci, who suffered a mid-session crash while not actually on a hot lap, back to the third row.

Petrucci will be joined there by Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), who crashed at Turn 10 in the final three minutes while set to go faster, and Cal Crutchlow (Castrol LCR Honda).

Row 4 will be Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda), the second of the Q1 starters in Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar), and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory).

Miller was fastest when he lost the front end of his Pramac Ducati at Turn 5 in the early stages of Q1, after which he was shuffled back to fourth position.

He looked a chance of rescuing a place in the second 15-minute stanza when he went back out on his second bike but could not put the lap together at the end and will start 14th, outside of team-mate Francesco Bagnaia.

The 24-lap race starts on Sunday at 2200 AEST.

Qualifying: Catalan MotoGP