Stoner's lap of 1 minute, 48.492 seconds around the Motorland Aragon circuit was three-tenths quicker than Lorenzo, who is looking to extend his season-long streak of podium finishes to 13.
“We're getting better with this track and the track is also picking up more grip,” Stoner said. “We're in a better position than we've been all year.” Dani Pedrosa of Honda, who has won two straight and is 63 points behind fellow Spaniard Lorenzo in the standings, starts third. Nicky Hayden fills out the second row.
“The last lap was better but I made a mistake on one of the corners and it was too late to correct,” Pedrosa said.
“Tomorrow I'll try for a nice start and a good race.” Italian rider Valentino Rossi starts seventh on Sunday, when Moto GP will pay its respects to Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa, who was killed when he fell and was hit by two trailing bikes in San Marino two weeks ago. All riders across each racing category is wearing Tomizawa's No. 48, which will be retired from Moto2 racing on Sunday, in honor of the Japanese rider.
Andrea Iannone of Italy will start the Moto2 from pole position after beating British rider Scott Redding by 0.04 seconds.
In the 125cc category, overall leader Marc Marquez of Spain was fastest in 1:59.335 to edge German rider Sandro Cortese for pole.
