MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez got off to the best start possible as he looks to protect his lead, with a dominant qualifying performance for the Aragon Grand Prix, taking pole position by more than half a second.
The Honda rider kicked off the session with the first timed lap which put him 1.5 seconds clear of the field as they completed their first runs, but that gap was eventually halved by Suzuki's Maverick Vinales as he crossed the line.
As the riders began their second laps, it was clear Marquez had done enough to secure pole and needn't improve on his second attempt – which he didn't – giving him the top spot by 0.631s with a lap of 1m47.117s.
Vinales held onto second place and will line up on the front-row alongside Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, just 0.030s further back.
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso will start fourth ahead of Cal Crutchlow with Valentino Rossi completing the second row. The Italian's best was eight tenths shy of Marquez's best effort.
Crutchlow was one of two riders to crash out in the closing minutes of qualifying, the other being Dani Pedrosa, although the Honda rider did enough to secure sixth on the grid alongside Suzuki Ecstar's Aleix Espargaro and Ducati's Danilo Petrucci.
Scott Redding (Pramac), Pol Espargaro (Yamaha Tech 3) and Stafen Bradl (Aprilia) completed the top ten.
Michele Pirro crashed out at Turn 8 during the session and will start P17, two places ahead of Nicky Hayden who makes his first MotoGP appearance since 2015 as he stands in for Jack Miller at Marc VDS, a place lower than team-mate Tito Rabat.
