Valentino Rossi will start the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position after pipping Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to the top spot by a tenth, marking the Italian's 52nd pole in MotoGP.
Lorenzo was the first man out in qualifying, opting for the harder front compound tyre alongside Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow, whilst the entire field had soft tyres fitted at the rear.
Lorenzo looked to be in control, immediately setting a 1m38.858 to jump into provisional pole, but Rossi had the measure of his team-mate when it came down to final flying laps and as the checkered flag fell, Rossi reigned supreme at the top of the times.
Marc Marquez tried to respond but once again the final sector proved to be his downfall. The Honda rider was the last man to set a time, but it wasn't enough and he finished just 0.033s shy of second place.
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso quietly went about his business as he secured fourth on the grid, seemingly with no answer to the top three, finishing 0.844s back on Rossi.
Two Team Suzuki Ecstar bikes completed the second row of the grid, Maverick Viñales out qualifying Aleix Espargaro for the fourth time in 2016. Incredibly Viñales was only 0.001s behind Dovizioso and Espargaro was just 0.007s back on his team-mate.
Dani Pedrosa was seventh ahead of Pol Espargaro, Hector Barbera and Crutchlow who completed the top ten positions.
