Valentino Rossi kept up his perfect run in the FIM MotoGP World Championship by securing pole position for the Misano race.
The Fiat Yamaha rider had been fastest in every session at the circuit but looked like losing out on pole to the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa.
But Rossi left it late to set the best qualifying time of one minute 34.338 seconds to claim pole position for his home race.
"I am very happy to get the pole position here in Misano," he said.
"We know that it's going to be a very tough race tomorrow, but we are in good shape." Rossi's sixth pole position of the season was the right answer for the reigning champion following his crash during the last round at Indianapolis.
Rossi's crash in America had allowed his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to close the gap between the top two in the points table to 25. But Spaniard Lorenzo was only third quickest today behind Rossi and Pedrosa in qualifying.
Pedrosa's time of 1:34.560 might not have been good enough to beat Rossi but it gave the Spaniard the advantage over his compatriot Lorenzo, who completed the front row.
Another Spaniard, Toni Elias, will head the second row of the grid in a race which is vital for his future in the MotoGP class as he looks for a new team for next season.
The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider was fourth quickest in qualifying ahead of experienced American Colin Edwards on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha.
Next came American Nicky Hayden, who has had a good week after signing to stay with the Ducati Marlboro team for the 2010 season.
Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) rounded out the top 10.
Veteran Italian Capirossi escaped injury despite an off-track excursion during the qualifying session.
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