Biaggi was just quick enough to claim pole

Biaggi posted a lap of one minute, 22.756 seconds on his Camel Honda with just 10 minutes left in the session.

Three-times world champion Rossi then threw down his challenge but was just 0.084 seconds slower than Biaggi.

Sete Gibernau, who shares the lead in the championship with Rossi, is fourth on the grid.

"I'm really happy with how my bike is running, we've done some good work here, all of us; my team, Honda and Michelin," said Biaggi, who is on pole for the 23rd time in his MotoGP career.

Rossi said: " I made one little mistake at the last corner and lost some time.

"A 30-lap race with so many riders within one second of the pole time is going to be very hard."

Kenny Roberts Jr continued his recent fine form for Suzuki by taking third place.

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano and Repsol Honda's Alex Barros both briefly held pole position.

"The race will be very tough because we're all close together" Max Biaggi

However, as the session reached a climax they were pushed down the order and will start fifth and sixth respectively.

The British contingent will all start towards the back of the grid.

Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams only completed a handful of laps and will start from 17th thanks to his solid showing on Friday.

"It's good to be on the front row here as it's hard to overtake." Valentino Rossi

Neil Hodgson is down in 19th on his D'Antin Ducati, although the World Superbike champion is less than two seconds off Biaggi's pace.

British Superbike champion Shane Byrne, McWilliams' Aprilia team-mate, will start from 23rd, with Harris WCM's Chris Burns one spot further back.

German MotoGP qualifying: