Yamaha's MotoGP points leader Jorge Lorenzo took pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after a record-breaking qualifying run.

Lorenzo clocked 1 minute 44.969 seconds at the end of the one-hour qualifying session, smashing the qualifying lap record of 1:45.267 set by Australian Honda rider Casey Stoner last year.

Lorenzo's nearest rival in the championship, fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, posted the second fastest time on his Honda followed by Britain's Cal Crutchlow on a Yamaha.

Pedrosa clocked 1:45.215, 0.246 seconds slower than Lorenzo who claimed his sixth pole start of the season.

Stoner, having missed the past three races due to injury, qualified seventh fastest on his Honda at 1:45.745.

Lorenzo has won six races so far and leads Pedrosa by 33 points with four races to go in the 18-round MotoGP season.

"I needed to push more than 100 per cent in the last lap," said Lorenzo, the 2010 world champion, who was lying fourth before posting the pole time on his 26th lap.

"I'm very happy with the pole and the performance of the bike and the pace we had."

Pedrosa, who has won three races in the past four events, said: "I had many problems during the session. I couldn't find the way to get away with the chattering problem," he said of the issue of vibration when braking."

Stoner, who is third in the current standings but unable to overtake Lorenzo with a gap of more than 100 points, has still promised to go full out to finish his last season in Grand Prix racing on a high.

"Physically I'm a little sore but not so bad. I'm just struggling to lift the bike out of the right-hand corners and it's making setting up the bike more difficult than it should be," the reigning MotoGP champion said.

"My team can see that my lean angles are nowhere near what they usually are. I can't get my foot out of the way. Therefore I can't lean the bike over enough or pick it up quickly on the exit of the corner.

"I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow. I'll try to get another good night's rest and do our best tomorrow".