Red Bull KTM teen sensation Marc Marquez beat off newly crowned champion Julian Simon to notch his second 125cc pole position of the season at Sepang.
Marquez dominated the session, roaring home in a time of 2minutes 13.756seconds in qualifying, 0.055 seconds faster than Simon.
And the 16-year-old Spaniard said: "I knew that we would do well here, because I like this track very much and my Red Bull KTM runs well in hot conditions... With a little luck, we'll be able to fight for a podium finish!"
He added: "Just to be able to start from the front gives you this little bit of extra motivation to do well and to put up a real fight.
“Racing on this track is never easy because you can't break away and there is always a big fight right until the end due to the slipstream battles on the long straights.
"It's important to settle into your own rhythm and to do your best without risking a crash.”
Meanwhile, in the 250cc category, Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama set a pole record of 2:06.767 to put the Honda rider on course to seal the title in Malaysia later this weekend.
Aoyama, who is 12 points clear at the top of the standings, will be joined on the front row of the grid on Sunday by French duo Jules Cluzel and Mike Di Meglio.
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