Marc Marquez will start Sunday’s MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas from pole position after heading the field in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Marquez arrived in Austin on a high after claiming his first win of the season in Argentina last weekend, and looking to extend his perfect record at the Circuit of The Americas.
Since the track joined the MotoGP calendar in 2013, Marquez has started on pole for every race and been victorious, leaving him with a tough act to follow this weekend.
However, Marquez lived up to the hype in qualifying by taking his fourth straight pole position at COTA with a fast lap midway through the session.
Marquez posted a fastest time of 2:03.188 for Honda, with Yamaha rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi unable to match his lap throughout the session.
Marquez began his final lap just before the checkered flag fell, but a sloppy final sector meant he could not improve his time.
Nevertheless, it was enough to give him pole ahead of Lorenzo, who finished 0.069 seconds behind Marquez at the top.
COTA has traditionally been a track where Honda-powered bikes have excelled, making Lorenzo’s charge to second ahead of Yamaha teammate Rossi a significant achievement.
Ducati rider Andrea Iannone made good on his practice pace by qualifying fourth ahead of Maverick Vinales, who slotted into fifth place for Suzuki.
Cal Crutchlow finished sixth on the satellite LCR Honda bike ahead of Andrea Dovizioso on the second Ducati, with Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa only finishing eighth.
Alex Espargaro qualified ninth after making it through Q1 as the second fastest rider behind Bradley Smith, who finished 11th in Q2. The duo were split by Scott Redding, while Loris Baz finished 12th.