Marc Marquez grabs Malaysian MotoGP pole position

SEPANG, Malaysia – Recently crowned world champion Marc Marquez will start on pole position for Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP, surpassing the record for the most poles in a single season.

The Spanish Repsol Honda rider clocked a record lap time of one minute 59.791 seconds in Saturday qualifying at Sepang, 0.182 seconds ahead of his team-mate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa.

It was Marquez’s 13th pole of the year, breaking the previous record of 12 front-row starts in a season jointly held by Australians Mick Doohan and Casey Stoner.

Pedrosa, who topped all three practice sessions and has won the last two Malaysian Grands Prix, was the only other rider to finish below the two-minute mark, clocking 1 minute 59.973.

In third place was Yamaha’s two-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo in 2 minutes 0.203, while Germany’s Stefan Bradl and Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso qualified fourth and fifth respectively.

Crowd favourite Italian Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, who is current runner-up in the overall championship standings, could only manage sixth place.

Spain’s Pol Espargaro missed qualifying after he came off his bike in the third practice session held earlier Saturday.

The Monster Yamaha rider’s machine was engulfed in flames moments after he hit the asphalt, causing him to break a bone in his left foot. His fitness to race will be assessed on Sunday morning. – Rappler.com