Niccolo Antonelli took a maiden Moto3 pole for the SIC58 squad, after snatching top spot from Jorge Martin by just 0.001 seconds in Qatar.
FP3 pacesetter Aron Canet cut throw the sand being blown around the 3.34-mile Losail Circuir in the opening stages of qualifying to go top with a 2:07.836s, improving substantially on his next lap to a 2:07.362s.
RBA Racing's Gabriel Rodrigo took over from the Spaniard moments later, the double pole winner from 2017 edging ahead with a 2:07.358s, though his time at the top was short-lived as Martin went almost four tenths clear with a 2:06.996s.
Martin's benchmark, which he set on the hard rear Dunlop tyre, remained intact until the final few minutes of the session, when a number of riders began lighting up the timing screen.
On his final attempt, Martin was six tenths up on the rest as he entered the final sector of the lap, but crucially was lacking a tow.
Meanwhile, Antonelli tucked in behind former SIC58 rider Tony Aroblino on the run to the line to post a 2:06.364s to go top. Without the slipstream, Martin lost all of his time and had to settle for second by just a thousandth of a second, securing Antonelli his first pole since Le Mans 2016.
Rodrigo took over provisional pole for a few seconds at the end of the session, but was shuffled back to third ahead of Sprinta Racing's Ayumu Sasaki, who benefitted from following Martin on his last lap.
Kaito Toba tallied up his best-ever qualifying result in fifth ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. Canet will head the third row from Philipp Oettl and Lorenzo Dalla Porta, while Enea Bastianini will launch from tenth after running off track at Turn 1 on his final flying lap.
Jakub Kornfeil nipped ahead of former teammate John McPhee by just 0.081s in 11th, with rookie Juame Masia beginning 13th for his first race as a full-time rider in the class. Andrea Migno and Marcos Ramirez complete the top 15.
Canet's Estrella Galicia teammate was denied the chance to improve in the final flurry of fast laps after a fall at Turn 9 with 20 minutes remaining. He will start from 21st.
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