Jeffrey Herlings got the holeshot and led every lap to bring home the qualifying race win in China.
Tim Gajser rode well to keep Herlings in his sight but had to be content to finish second with Romain Febvre finishing third to gain more championship points.
Maxime Renaux had a good race to finish in fourth ahead of Ruben Fernandez who rounded out the top five.
Lucas Coenen will be disappointed to only finish in seventh to lose more championship points.
MXGP Qualifying Race:
Updated championship standings:
