Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi will lead the field away in Sunday's Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix after claiming pole position with a lap that broke the circuit record.
According to Motorsport.com, Bezzecchi stopped the clock at 1'50.028 in qualifying, finishing 0.266 seconds clear of Ducati's Marc Marquez, who starts from second.
Marquez heads into the race with the opportunity to secure his 10th world championship, which would be his eighth in the premier class.
The two front-row riders were involved in a collision during Saturday's sprint, an incident that the outlet says ended Bezzecchi's own interest in the title fight.
VR46 Ducati rider Fabio di Giannantonio completes the front row, 0.299 seconds off pole. Trackhouse Aprilia pair Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura qualified fourth and sixth respectively, with LCR Honda's Johann Zarco seventh and KTM's Pedro Acosta eighth.
Jorge Martin, Bezzecchi's team-mate at Aprilia, still retains an outside chance of the championship but faces an uphill task from 11th on the grid. The Spaniard pointed the finger at Acosta for his disappointing qualifying result.
The field will be smaller than usual. Motorsport.com reports that only 17 riders are expected to start, with Yamaha having pulled out of the entire weekend because of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
Francesco Bagnaia is also set to miss the race. The Ducati rider, who qualified fifth, broke his foot on Saturday.
Further back, Gresini's Fermin Aldeguer and Tech3's Enea Bastianini completed the top 10, while Maverick Vinales is listed last of the 18 qualifiers in 18th.