Marc Marquez brushed off a crash to claim a sixth straight MotoGP pole in Texas, but could face a penalty after he got in the way of a potential pole lap from Maverick Vinales in the closing stages.
FP4 pacesetter Marquez made his intentions plain immediately in Q2, the Honda rider going four tenths clear of the field with his opening gambit of 2:03.658s ahead of Yamaha's Valentino Rossi.
Pushing for a second lap, Marquez crashed at Turn 13. The Spaniard was unharmed in the fall and was able to get back to pitlane for his second bike just moment later.
Update: Marquez demoted, Vinales to start from pole
In the final minutes, Vinales was lighting up the timing screens and was headed for a potential session-topping time when he came across a touring Marquez at Turn 15, prompting an investigation from stewards.
Vinales regrouped for his final attempt, and briefly went top of the pile with a 2:04.064s. However, Marquez obliterated the rest with a 2:03.658s to maintain his unbeaten pole record at the Circuit of the Americas.
Suzuki's Andrea Iannone secured his first front-row start since Valencia last year after stealing third away from Tech3's Johann Zarco at the chequered flag.
Rossi will start from fifth on the second of the factory Yamahas, ahead of Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo, while Argentina race winner Cal Crutchlow heads the third row on his LCR Honda.
Andrea Dovizioso was almost a second adrift of pole in eighth, while Dani Pedrosa gritted his teeth for ninth despite riding in extreme discomfort from the broken wrist he suffered in Argentina two weeks ago.
Q1 graduate Danilo Petrucci was 10th, with Alex Rins and Pol Espargaro – who topped the first part of qualifying – completing the top 12.
Takaaki Nakagami came close to graduating to Q2, but missed out in the end by just two-tenths of second. However, 13th for the LCR is his best qualifying result so far this season.
14th-placed Tito Rabat looked like a top two threat at the end of Q1, but a near-crash on his final attempt left him out of the progression places ahead of the second KTM of Bradley Smith and early Q1 leader Hafizh Syahrin.
Argentina poleman Jack Miller suffered a fall in FP4, leaving him with just one bike for qualifying. The Australian struggled and was 18th in the end ahead of Aleix Espargaro, with Franco Morbidelli in front of him.
Karel Abraham walked away from a crash at the fast Turn 10 with eight minutes remaining. The Nieto rider will start 23rd as a result.
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