MotoGP pole sitter Marc Marquez has predicted a race of attrition ahead of the first ever Thai Grand Prix in Buriram.

The World Championship leader became the first man to qualify on pole position after being forced to go through Q1 for being out of the top ten through combined free practice times.

Marquez said that he thinks everybody will be running the hard tyre tomorrow and that the race will come down to how people manage their rear Michelin tyres.

“Honestly I think everybody will be with the hard rear,” said the 25-year-old.

“Tyre life is important here, it’s very hot and I think everybody will be with the hard.

“On paper now, Dovizioso looks very, very strong and like he is the fastest one. We are very, very close and then both Yamaha’s were very fast in FP4, they were able to do mid to low 31’s consistently.

“It will be tough, but the last two laps in the race will be crucial. Because the tyre drops a little bit, but apart from that I’m happy with how we’re working with the team.”

Despite being forced to take the long route through Q1 into the pole position shoot out, the Repsol Honda man wasn’t concerned with his free practice pace on his RC213V, revealing a small mistake was at the root cause of his crash and subsequent slower pace.

“I’m happy with how I finished the day, but honestly this morning we were very, very unlucky,” he said.

“When I put in new tyres for the time attack, we had a small problem with the bike. I then went in and we didn’t have enough time to change the front tyre and I went out with the second bike. It wasn’t the set up that I like.

“The front tyre was 20 laps, but yeah, I lose the front and I crash and it’s the risk if your strategy is to focus on the race, that you only have one chance to get straight into Q2.

“But then in the afternoon we managed in a good way, we were able to be competitive in FP4 with the used tyres, even in Q1 I rode really good and then in Q2 maybe I pushed too much and I did a few mistakes. I missed the apex on some corners and I didn’t make my perfect lap.

“But even like this I was able to be on the pole and I am happy, as front row was my main target today.”