Ferrari's Felipe Massa produced a sensational final lap to snatch pole ahead of McLaren title rival Lewis Hamilton at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Brazilian, only a point adrift in the title race, was six-tenths of a second quicker than Hamilton.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen took third under the floodlights, ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen Germany's Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest-ever Grand Prix winner ...
Vettel fastest as Hamilton spins ...
Hamilton on pole for German Grand Prix ... and the second BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld make up the top six for Sunday's race.
With overtaking difficult on the Marina Bay street circuit, grid positions are likely to be crucial - and Massa was understandably delighted to have pipped Hamilton at the death.
"The car was so nice to drive and it is so great that I managed to do a perfect lap," said the 27-year-old after his lap of one minute, 44:519 seconds.
"It was a great achievement. I made the corners perfect, so it is fantastic and one of the most incredible feelings a driver can have."
Hamilton insisted he was happy with second after he almost missed out on the pole position shoot-out, sneaking through in 10th, but warned that overtaking in the race will be almost impossible.
"I'm happy with the result considering," he said.
"My lap was by no means perfect. Felipe said he did a perfect lap. We are not worried, we are in a very strong position tomorrow. I am happy where I am - we're looking quite good with our strategy.
"You won't be able to overtake here, you can't get close enough and it will be tough. I'll just play it by ear and give it my best shot."
While Massa celebrated his fifth pole of the season, Fernando Alonso reflected on a huge dose of misfortune.
The former double world champion had impressed in practice and in the first qualifying session, only for his Renault to suffer a suspected fuel supply problem in session two, leaving the Spaniard a lowly 15th.
Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella fared even worse.
The Italian crashed in Saturday's practice, leaving his mechanics with a race against time to get the car ready for the first qualifying session.
They managed it, but Fisichella promptly crashed again without completing a lap.
In dry conditions, Sebastian Vettel - fresh from his maiden Grand Prix win at Monaco - once again impressed as he qualified his Toro Rosso in seventh.
That came after Vettel's team-mate Sebastien Bourdais failed to make it out of the first qualifying session, meaning he will start from down in 17th.
Britain's David Coulthard produced an excellent lap late in the first session to finish in the top 15 and the veteran will start 14th, behind Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber.
Coulthard's fellow Briton Jenson Button is just ahead of them in 12th.
Grid positions for the Singapore Grand Prix:
1 F Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1min 44.801secs
2 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:45.465
3 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:45.617
4 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:45.779
5 H Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:45.873
6 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:45.964
7 S Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:46.244
8 T Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:46.328
9 N Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:46.611
10 K Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:47.547
11 J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:45.038
12 J Button (GB) Honda 1:45.133
13 M Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:45.212
14 D Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:45.298
15 F Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:44.971
16 N Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:46.037
17 S Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:46.389
18 R Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:46.583
19 A Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:47.940
20 G Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari, no time
(BBC)
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