Barcelona was 22ºC for World Superbike qualifying, and Alvaro Bautista was expected to claim pole position after a blistering performance in this morning's free practice session.
Alvaro Bautista set a 1'40.264 to open the session, an all time lap record. Dominique Aegerter was second quickest after one lap, over half a second off Bautista's time. After a single lap, with Iker Lecuona third quickest ahead of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes, everyone popped back to the pits for a new tyre and a breather.
In the second stint, Jonathan Rea was on a fast lap, a tenth of a second off Bautista's pace after the third sector, as the red flags came out for his teammate Alex Lowes's crash in the last corner.
With only two minutes and twenty one seconds left for the restart, tyre choice was limited and Bautista's pole position was almost certainly unassailable. The flag came out before everyone could get installed, but Jonathan Rea cut it fine enough to spend his qualifying tyre. Michael Ruben Rinaldi took second place, but was deposed from the front row by Dominique Aegerter and Jonathan Rea.
Alvaro Bautista's opening lap stood throughout the whole session and put him in pole position, ahead of Dominique Aegerter and Jonathan Rea. Michael Ruben Rinaldi, just three hundredths of a second off Aegerter's second place, headed the second row alongside Iker Lecuona and Alex Lowes, whose pre-crash time held him in good stead. Remy Gardner and Toprak Razgatlioglu's Yamahas were joined by Garrett Gerloff on the BMW.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | Speed |
| 1 | 1 | A. BAUTISTA | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1'40.264 | 322,4 | |
| 2 | 77 | D. AEGERTER | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'40.737 | 0.473 | 313,0 |
| 3 | 65 | J. REA | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'40.761 | 0.497 | 315,8 |
| 4 | 21 | M. RINALDI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1'40.771 | 0.507 | 321,4 |
| 5 | 7 | I. LECUONA | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 1'40.783 | 0.519 | 323,4 |
| 6 | 22 | A. LOWES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'40.971 | 0.707 | 321,4 |
| 7 | 87 | R. GARDNER | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'41.071 | 0.807 | 321,4 |
| 8 | 54 | T. RAZGATLIOGLU | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'41.122 | 0.858 | 314,9 |
| 9 | 31 | G. GERLOFF | BMW M1000 RR | 1'41.141 | 0.877 | 326,3 |
| 10 | 55 | A. LOCATELLI | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'41.233 | 0.969 | 319,5 |
| 11 | 9 | D. PETRUCCI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1'41.420 | 1.156 | 320,5 |
| 12 | 97 | X. VIERGE | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 1'41.423 | 1.159 | 330,3 |
| 13 | 45 | S. REDDING | BMW M1000 RR | 1'41.703 | 1.439 | 322,4 |
| 14 | 47 | A. BASSANI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1'41.834 | 1.570 | 322,4 |
| 15 | 5 | P. OETTL | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1'41.965 | 1.701 | 322,4 |
| 16 | 76 | L. BAZ | BMW M1000 RR | 1'42.028 | 1.764 | 323,4 |
| 17 | 34 | L. BALDASSARRI | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'42.197 | 1.933 | 314,0 |
| 18 | 51 | E. GRANADO | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 1'42.297 | 2.033 | 317,6 |
| 19 | 28 | B. RAY | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1'42.307 | 2.043 | 315,8 |
| 20 | 75 | I. LOPES | BMW M1000 RR | 1'42.399 | 2.135 | 315,8 |
| 21 | 35 | H. SYAHRIN | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 1'42.456 | 2.192 | 323,4 |
| 22 | 66 | T. SYKES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'42.609 | 2.345 | 306,8 |
| 23 | 52 | O. KONIG | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'43.055 | 2.791 | 313,0 |
| 24 | 32 | I. VINALES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1'43.862 | 3.598 | 299,2 |
