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Repsol Honda factory rider Marc Marquez flew to his fifth pole position around the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, taking the pole position from Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso.
The World Champion had a typically Marquez-type session, with the Spaniard initially sent out with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in a bid to help his compatriot out. After just a one flying lap run, Marquez was in to get a fresh rear Michelin fitted to his RC213V. Despite only putting one lap on his first rear tyre, it was enough to leave him in a net pole position.
Marquez’ second run was ruined after one corner when he lost the front end of his bike, saving it in a way only Marquez knows how to, keeping the bike upright on his right elbow. Aborting that lap, Marquez came in for a second time to get another soft rear tyre for a final dash to the line.
Whilst on his warm up lap, Marquez saw Vinales jump ahead of him, with Rossi and then Dovizioso demoting him down to a provisional second row start.
Marquez however, used his fresh rear tyre to jump back to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:38.304, enough to take pole from Vinales by 0.154 seconds. Dovizioso will round out the front row after qualifying just 0.010 seconds behind the Yamaha man.
Valentino Rossi will head the second row in fourth place and the nine-times World Champion will be joined on the second row of the grid by Jack Miller who lost his lap in the fourth sector and Franco Morbidelli.
Fabio Quartararo will start one spot behind his team-mate in seventh place. The nineteen year old was sat as high as second at one point, however the late run of laps saw him knocked down to the third row. Cal Crutchlow couldn’t follow up his free practice pace in qualifying and will start from the middle of the third row, with his team-mate Taka Nakagami rounding out the third row.
The fourth row is compromised of factory riders with Danilo Petrucci, Lorenzo and Pol Espargaro qualifying their respective Ducati, Honda and KTM’s in tenth, eleventh and twelfth.
