Ducati's Troy Bayliss showed perfect timing to take pole position for Sunday's World Superbikes round in Brno, Czech Republic.
The championship leader had not been top of the timesheets all weekend until a superpole lap of one minute 58.345 seconds put him ahead of Troy Corser.
Bayliss' team-mate Michel Fabrizio was third, with his nearest championship rival Max Neukirchner back in ninth.
Bayliss leads the standings by 49 points but has not won since April.
The Australian, who is seeking his third world title, admitted he was looking for a change of fortune in Sunday's two races.
"It hasn't always looked good on this track for us, especially last year, and it's been a bit of a bogey track for me as well," he said.
"I've never really had great results here in the past and I'd love to turn that around.
"When I saw Corser's lap I knew I had to do a good one to beat that and when Max was out, I would have given him a real pat on the back if he had gone faster than that."
Czech Grand Prix Superpole qualifying results:
1 T Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 1min 58.345secs
2 T Corser (Aus) Yamaha 1:58.451
3 M Fabrizio (Ita) Ducati 1:58.853
4 M Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 1:59.069
5 R Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda 1:59.318
6 N Canepa (Ita) Ducati 1:59.324
7 F Nieto (Spa) Suzuki 1:59.360
8 J Smrz (Cze) Ducati 1:59.451
9 M Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 1:59.497
10 Y Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 1:59.537
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