Dovi has been quick from the start at the Japanese circuit, showing ample speed during Friday’s practice sessions, and was immediately in contention for the top-spot during Q2. After swapping bikes and rolling out on the extra soft tire Dovi was even more of a threat, bettering his previous time on the penultimate lap of the session.

“It’s a great satisfaction to finally obtain this pole position with Ducati,” said Dovizioso. “We have been through some difficult times in the last year and a half, but we have constantly improved in the last few races. To succeed in being so quick throughout the weekend here at Motegi, also with my race pace, establish a good feeling with the bike before qualifying and know that you can fight for the pole is really a great feeling!”

The final moments saw plenty of challengers to Dovi’s position at the top. Rossi was able to put a very strong lap in, coming up just a few hundredths short of the leader. Pedrosa had to rely on his next-to-last lap as he lost the front during his final rotation and crashed, a lap that was on pace to put the Honda man at the head of the pack. His teammate, Marc Marquez, finished fourth-fastest, showing strength through various sectors throughout the session, but he was ultimately unable to put together a single, faultless lap. Lorenzo qualified in fifth, getting bumped down the ranks as others upped the pace in the final stages.

Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone starts from sixth on the grid, followed by Tech 3 Yamaha’s Pol Espargaro in seventh. Dovi’s teammate, Cal Crutchlow, grabbed eighth position followed by LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl and Tech 3’s Bradley Smith in ninth and 10th, respectively.

MotoGP Motegi Qualifying Results 2014 
1. Andrea Doviziioso (Ducati) 1’44.502 
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’44. 557 
3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’44.755 
4. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’44.775 
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’44.784 
6. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’44.854 
7. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’44.867 
8. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’44.898 
9. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’45.005 
10. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’45.044 
11. Aleix Espargaro (Forward-Yamaha) 1’45.315 
12. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’45.677 
13. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’45.971 
14. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’46.465 
15. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’46.499 
16. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 1’46.796 
17. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha) 1’46.876 
18. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’46.915 
19. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’46.948 
20. Alex De Angelis (Forward-Yamaha) 1’47.092 
21. Danilo Petrucci (ART) 1’47.757 
22. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’48.144 
23. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia) 1’48.185 
24. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’48.261