Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista made an impressive start to the Catalunya World Superbike round, securing pole position for Race 1 after setting a new all-time lap record.
Bautista wasted no time in setting the fastest lap of the weekend, achieving the impressive feat on his very first attempt.
Bautista, who rides for factory Ducati, completed the lap in just 1 minute and 40.264 seconds, setting a new lap record in the process. Dominique Aegerter on the Yamaha was Bautista's closest rival, finishing just six tenths of a second behind the world champion.
Jonathan Rea on the Kawasaki came fourth after the initial session, while his teammate Alex Lowes finished just 0.001 seconds behind in fifth place. Unfortunately, Lowes crashed out of qualifying at the final corner before his second stint, resulting in Rea abandoning his latest lap.
Despite yellow flags slowing him down, Bautista continued to impress, setting another incredible lap. However, with two minutes remaining, the yellow flags became a red flag due to Lowes' leaking bike fluid on the circuit.
In the frantic final two minutes, Aegerter, Rea, Rinaldi and Lecuona all made significant improvements but failed to challenge Bautista's pole position as he got caught up in a big group of riders.
Bautista's stunning lap record secures him a strong starting position for Race 1 of the Catalunya World Superbike round.