Two-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez stamped his authority on the field during qualifying for the Aragon Grand Prix on Saturday by taking pole position by over six-tenths of a second.
Marquez entered the weekend looking to extend his championship lead over Yamaha rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, and was the favorite for pole after finishing 0.7 seconds clear in final practice.
The Honda rider lost little of his dominance in qualifying, with his first flying lap of 1:47.117 proving good enough for pole despite the rest of the field having multiple attempts at beating him.
The result marked Marquez’s sixth pole position of the season, giving him more than any other rider.
Marquez’s nearest rival in Q2 was Suzuki’s Marverick Vinales, whose best lap was 0.631 seconds off the pole time, while a late effort saw Lorenzo slot into P3 for Yamaha.
Andrea Dovizioso led Ducati’s charge by finishing fourth ahead of Cal Crutchlow, whose hopes of a front-row start were ended after crashing on his final qualifying run.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi qualified sixth on the second Yamaha ahead of recent winner Dani Pedrosa - another Q2 faller - and Aleix Espargaro. Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding rounded out the top 10 in qualifying at Motorland Aragon.