Marc Marquez snatched MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix pole by just 0.002 seconds from Andrea Dovizioso, while Valentino Rossi suffered his worst qualifying since 2016 in 14th.
Marquez wasted no time at the start of Q2, posting the best lap of the weekend with a 1:23.810s, which he bettered to a 1:23.511s to go over seven tenths clear of the field.
Last year's Red Bull Ring winner Dovizioso guided his Ducati to second on his opening lap, and cut Marquez's advantage down to just 0.029s on his next attempt.
With six minutes remaining, Dovizioso's Ducati stablemate Jorge Lorenzo usurped Marquez with a 1:23.415s, though the Honda man responded immediately, returning to top spot with a 1:23.395s.
Dovizioso piled the pressure on Marquez on his penultimate lap, missing top spot by just 0.002s. However, both the Italian and Marquez rolled out of their final laps, while Lorenzo clicked through the first sector fastest of all.
The Spaniard bled time across the rest of the lap, though, and had to settle for third behind Dovizioso and Marquez – mirroring last year's Red Bull Ring front row.
Danilo Petrucci put his GP18 into fourth, two tenths fron the front row, with Cal Crutchlow and Johann Zarco, comfortably the top Yamaha runner on his Tech3 M1, completing the second row.
Tito Rabat headed Andrea Iannone and Dani Pedrosa, while Q1 graduates Alex Rins and Alvaro Bautista surrounded a struggling Maverick Vinales to complete the top 12.
Yamah teammate Rossi had to contest Q1 for the first time since last year's Australian Grand Prix, and did hold a place inside the top two briefly in the closing stages of the session.
However, improvements for Bautista, Rins, and KTM's Bradley Smith dropped him to fourth, and the final effort was not quick enough to lift him any hight.
Rossi will start 14th as a result, his worst qualifying result since he was 15th in Australia in 2016, with Smith and Aleix Espargaro sandwiching him.
Franco Morbidelli qualified in 16th on his Marc VDS Honda, but will drop to 19th as punishment for riding slowly on the racing line in practice on Friday.
