Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) looked to be starting outside the top twelve until his final lap in Q1, and the Frenchman made it count to pull out a rapid final sector and just take to the top, 0.022 ahead of fellow graduate Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Rookie Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was the man to just lose out, pushed down to third.
For full results, click here! Now check out Q2 and the fight to finalise the grid.