Yamaha’a Fabio Quartararo came achingly close to his sixth pole of the season at Spielberg this afternoon, Pramac’s Jorge Martin denying him by just 0.034s in the dying seconds.

The Monster Energy rider was quick to admit his disappointment on missing out on the top-spot, especially at a track his YZR-M1 was expected to suffer at the most.

“A little bit frustrating because I wanted that one and I think that I managed to get the best lap as possible,” Quartararo explained from the post-qualifying press conference.

“Unfortunately I had on the second run, riders in the back that many times, I could help them, but today I wanted help from someone. Nobody wanted to push so I decided not to push, to help nobody. In any case, I knew that my lap was going to be on the front row, and at the end Jorge found a tow.

“His team made the best lap so I couldn't do nothing but I know my potential in qualifying, so it's good to start from the front row here and the next ones will be better for us,” he said confidently.

When discussing the impending 28-lap race, the Frenchman confirmed he was in a better place than last weekend before conceding that you can never guarantee the results at such a demanding circuit.

“Let's see, because last week I was feeling good, but during the race I had another feeling. This weekend I improve a lot my pace with used tyres - that was the point where we struggled a lot and looks like we are in a position to fight for the victory, looking at the pace. Then it depends a lot on the power of the bikes and everything but I will do my best.

“If it's P1, is the best, then we will see what happens but it's true that I will fight for the best position as possible, and leave Austria with a good taste.”

The 22-year-old has so far collected 15 pole awards since his introduction into the premier class, despite the Yamaha being renowned for it’s lack of top-speed. So how does he explain his prowess on a Saturday afternoon?

“Putting myself more on the limit than the others!” he explained simply before continuing.

"More in this track - in the tracks like Jerez, Le Mans, the power is not that important - but in this track where you go from second to sixth, or second to fifth, is all about acceleration. At the end, in that case I can do nothing, just losing a few tenths, and then push on the limit to try to recover on the corners.

“I was impressed that on the second Austria I could stay on the front row and improve a lot my lap time because normally on that track, when there is two races, the Ducati's are always making a big step, and [making it] more difficult for us. But P2 here is really great for the future.

“I have not a clear objective because in the race, in this track, is really difficult to fight - unlike Assen where the straights are really short. Depends a lot on the first laps but of course I will give my maximum.

“I think our pace is to fight for the podium, or for top-five, but I will not put myself crazy if I see someone in front that is going faster. I will do the best I can, going into the limit but I will not push more than my limit. So, I will go 100% all race but I will not go over it.”