Mugello MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa snatches pole from Jorge Lorenzo
Dani Pedrosa stunned Yamaha by snatching a last-gasp Honda pole for MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello
Pedrosa was languishing in seventh as the chequered flag fell on Q2, while Lorenzo - who had been quickest in practice - held a dominant provisional pole on a record 1m47.226s.
But Pedrosa found a massive improvement on his last lap and vaulted right up to first, beating Lorenzo by 0.069 seconds as he crossed the line in 1m47.157s.
Andrea Dovizioso's final lap was also a special one, thrusting him forward to third place and a front-row start for Ducati at home.
Neck pain from his Friday practice crash is likely to hamper Dovizioso in the race, though.
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There was disappointment for Valentino Rossi. The local hero looked set for a breakthrough qualifying performance as he held third place going into the closing stages, only for the rush of late improvements to shove his Yamaha right down to seventh.
The battered Marc Marquez easily got through from Q1 to Q2 and briefly appeared in a provisional second on the grid. He could not stay there and slipped back to sixth.
Fourth was a great effort for Cal Crutchlow after another qualifying crash.
He fell with eight minutes of Q2 remaining, rushed back for his spare Tech 3 Yamaha and then beat Stefan Bradl and Marquez to fourth place on the grid.
All three factory Ducatis were in the top 10, as Nicky Hayden and Michele Pirro qualified eighth and 10th, split by Alvaro Bautista.
But Pramac Ducati had no bikes in Q2. Ben Spies withdrew following Friday practice as his injuries remained troublesome, and Andrea Iannone could only manage 13th.
Bradley Smith, riding with a hand injury following his practice crash, made it out of Q1 and secured 11th on the grid, ahead of CRT leader Aleix Espargaro.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m47.157s 2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m47.226s + 0.069s 3. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1m47.628s + 0.471s 4. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m47.632s + 0.475s 5. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 1m47.737s + 0.580s 6. Marc Marquez Honda 1m47.763s + 0.606s 7. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m47.872s + 0.715s 8. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m48.006s + 0.849s 9. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda 1m48.355s + 1.198s 10. Michele Pirro Ducati 1m48.564s + 1.407s 11. Bradley Smith Tech 3 Yamaha 1m48.706s + 1.549s 12. Aleix Espargaro Aspar Aprilia 1m48.765s + 1.608s 13. Andrea Iannone Pramac Ducati 1m49.265s + 2.108s 14. Randy de Puniet Aspar Aprilia 1m49.266s + 2.109s 15. Hector Barbera Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m49.847s + 2.690s 16. Danilo Petrucci Ioda-Suter-BMW 1m50.518s + 3.361s 17. Colin Edwards Forward FTR-Kawasaki 1m50.701s + 3.544s 18. Claudio Corti Forward FTR-Kawasaki 1m50.729s + 3.572s 19. Michael Laverty PBM-Aprilia 1m50.787s + 3.630s 20. Karel Abraham Cardion Aprilia 1m51.089s + 3.932s 21. Yonny Hernandez PBM Aprilia 1m51.239s + 4.082s 22. Bryan Staring Gresini FTR-Honda 1m51.981s + 4.824s 23. Hiroshi Aoyama Avintia FTR-Kawasaki 1m52.148s + 4.991s 24. Lukas Pesek Ioda-Suter-BMW 1m52.345s + 5.188s
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