Marc Marquez on pole in Austin for seventh year in a row
ByReuters
Published 13/04/2019 at 21:05 GMT
Honda's MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez took pole position at the Grand Prix of the Americas for the seventh year in a row on Saturday while title rival Andrea Dovizioso could manage only 13th place on the grid.
Marc Marquez of Spain and Repsol Honda Team and Aleix Espargaro of Spain and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini head into the turn during a practice run at Circuit of The Americas on April 12, 2019 in Austin, Texas.
Image credit: Getty Images
The Spaniard will be joined by Yamaha's 40-year-old Italian great Valentino Rossi and British LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow on the front row for Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Five-times MotoGP world champion Marquez, who set a best lap of two minutes 03.787 seconds, is unbeaten at the track and has won there for the past six seasons.
Italian great Rossi was 0.237 slower than Marquez as he qualified on the front row for the first time since Malaysia last October.
Marquez's team mate and compatriot Jorge Lorenzo lost time when his bike had a chain problem and he had to lean it against the pitwall before jogging back to the garage for a spare bike. He qualified 11th.
Ducati's Dovizioso, four points behind championship leader Marquez after two races, failed to make it through the first qualifying session.
The day's final practice sessions were cancelled due to the risk of lightning strikes but the bad weather then eased off in the afternoon, with qualifying run under blue skies.
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