Marc Marquez shrugs off crash to take pole at wet Australian Grand Prix
Marc Marquez crashed early in Q2 at Phillip Island but swapped bikes and scorched to pole with a 1:34.203, leading brother Alex and Johann Zarco on the front row while title rival Jorge Martin qualified fourth.
Marc Marquez swept to a stunning pole position for the Australian Grand Prix in wet and slippery qualifying at Phillip Island on Saturday, hours after a crash that could have ruined his session.
The Ducati rider lost the front of his bike early in the second qualifying session and slid off onto the grass at turn four. Unscathed, the defending champion sprinted through the Ducati garage, swapped bikes and laid down a scorching lap of 1:34.203 to clinch his fourth pole of the season.
“I just tried to cover my big mistake! You cannot crash in the first lap, because that means that you don’t have a lap time,” the seven-time MotoGP champion said.
Marquez’s brother Alex of Gresini Racing took second, 1.494 seconds adrift, while LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco — who had come through the first qualifying session earlier on Saturday — completed the front row.
Championship leader Jorge Martin, who starts from the second row in both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race, was fourth-quickest on the Aprilia, giving Marquez a shot at overtaking him in the standings. With five rounds remaining, including Australia, Martin leads on 355 points to Marquez’s 353.
Martin’s team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, ninth-quickest in qualifying, is a somewhat distant third on 309. Earlier on Saturday, Australian rider Jack Miller of Pramac Racing topped the first qualifying session, much to the delight of the home fans.
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