Rossi snatches pole from Marquez in Japan
Valentino Rossi will start from the front of the grid for Sunday's main race.
Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi upstaged rival and championship leader Marc Marquez as he snatched pole for the Japanese MotoGP.
Honda's Marquez appeared on track to set the fastest pace of the second qualifying session until Rossi clocked a time of one minute, 43.954seconds on his penultimate lap on Saturday.
With the ride in Motegi, Rossi - who played second-fiddle to Marquez in the third practice session - moved level with his rival and Jorge Lorenzo for 64 career poles.
"It's fantastic, the third pole of the season - a good number. We were struggling through the weekend with the setting and I'm a little bit sick," Rossi said afterwards, having edged Marquez by 0.180s.
"Before FP4 we did a good job, found a good balance. I did a really good lap and when I saw 1m 43.9s I was very happy. It's important to start from pole."
Marquez was forced to abandon a fast lap after pushing a little too hard under braking, while reigning world champion Lorenzo completes the top three for Sunday's main race.
Lorenzo - fastest in Friday's practice - was declared fit for qualifying, despite being flown to hospital following a fall earlier in the day, and ended Q2 0.267s adrift of Rossi.
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow of Honda were fourth and fifth respectively, while Alvaro Bautista - who led Q1 - fell on his out-lap in the second session.
Provisional Classification
1. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) 1:43.954seconds
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 1:44.134s
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) 1:44.221s
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1:44.294s
5. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) 1:44.402s
6. Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki Ecstar) 1'44.494s
7. Maverick Vinales (Suzuki Ecstar) 1:44.539s
8. Hector Barbera (Avintia Ducati) 1:44.980s
9. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 1:45.232s
10. Danilo Petrucci (Octor Paramac Yakhnich) 1:45.782s