Valentino Rossi has secured his first pole position since 2010 with a stunning effort in qualifying for the final race of the MotoGP season in Valencia.

The Yamaha rider had been struggling in practice but the nine-time world champion produced a moment of brilliance to claim his first pole since Le Mans 2010 with a 1:30.843s session best.

The effort provided the Italian with his 50th career premier class pole position.

Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone had held provisional pole before Rossi’s last gasp effort edged the Italian into second by 0.132s.

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa completed the front row in third just two hundredths of a second adrift of Iannone.

Jorge Lorenzo heads the second row in fourth ahead of world champion Marc Marquez, who escaped a fall during qualifying.

Monster Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro was sixth in front of team-mate Bradley Smith, while Cal Crutchlow was eighth fastest in his last ride for the factory Ducati team.

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl rounded out the top 10.

Suzuki’s return to grand prix racing suffered a set back in qualifying as a technical issue restricted Randy De Puniet to 20th position.

Australia’s Broc Parkes will start the final race of the season from 24th on the grid for Paul Bird Motorsport.

In Moto3, Jack Miller will start Sunday’s crucial title decider from second on the grid having been pipped to pole position by Niccolo Antonelli.

The Queenslander was just 0.068s adrift of Antonelli’s benchmark time but was crucially ahead of championship rival Alex Marquez, who was third fastest.

Miller will need to overcome an 11 point deficit to Marquez to claim the Moto3 title. If the 19-year-old wins the final race of the season, he will require his rival to finish outside of the podium places to seal the championship.

MotoGP Valencia Qualifying Result