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MotoGP Austria: Marquez snatches pole by 0.002s

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez snatched pole position for tomorrow’s Red Bull Ring race by 0.002s from Andrea Dovizioso as the factory Yamahas slump outside the top ten with Valentino Rossi missing a Q2 spot.

Marquez set a 1’23.241 using a medium/soft combination on his seventh lap as the fat lady began to warm up but Dovizioso, who used a medium rear Michelin, had other ideas and put in a 1’23.243 to just miss out on top spot.

Jorge Lorenzo was also right in the mix but his problems in sector three and not using a new front on his last run meant he missed out by a little over a tenth of a second but joins his Ducati team-mate on the front row.

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Rossi wasn’t able to make it through qualifying one and will start from 14th place, his worst qualifying since Phillip Island in 2016. The Doctor missed the top two in Q1 by 0.070s and it wasn’t much better for Maverick Vinales who could only manage 11th place and a second off the pace.

Danilo Petrucci was pushed off the front row by Dovizioso’s final lap after he put in a 1’23.503 but he was able to stay in front of Britain’s Cal Crutchlow who ended in fifth place. Johann Zarco upheld at least some of Yamaha’s honour with a 1’23.887 to claim sixth.

Tito Rabat made good use of Ducati power to take his Avintia version to seventh, one ahead of 2016 race winner Andrea Iannone. Alex Rins, second in Q1, was tenth and Dani Pedrosa was last of the Hondas in Q2 while Alvaro Bautista, also from Q1, completed the top 12.

Bradley Smith, flying solo on the Red Bull KTM, was third in Q2 and starts ahead of Rossi with Aleix Espargaro in 15th place.

Jack Miller had a gearbox issue right at the start of Q1 and ended behind Franco Morbidelli but he had a three-place grid penalty for mucking about on the racing line in FP1.

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