Italian Franco Morbidelli clinched his second MotoGP pole position of the season for Yamaha at the Valencia grand prix while Australia’s Jack Miller finished a fine second in qualifying.

Morbidelli posted a best lap of one minute 30.191 seconds and will start from the front of the grid, ahead of Pramac Racing’s Miller, who was a mere 0.096sec adrift on his Ducati as he seeks to improve on his overall ninth place in the current standings .

Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami will begin Sunday’s race from third on the grid, his third successive front row start.

Championship leader Joan Mir, who will clinch the title with a podium finish on Sunday, will start from 12th, one spot behind contender Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha.

Alex Rins’ title aspirations were dealt a blow as he failed to make it into the second qualifying session.

Seven-times premier class champion Valentino Rossi of Yamaha, who was cleared to race this weekend after a COVID-19 scare, will start from 16th on the grid.