World championship leader Marc Marquez snatched pole position and left title rival Andrea Dovizioso in his wake in the final seconds of qualifying Saturday for the Australian MotoGP. Triple world champion Marquez grabbed his 44th pole in his 88th MotoGP with a best lap time of one minute 28.386 seconds at Phillip Island, while Ducati's Dovizioso struggled to 11th fastest and will start Sunday's race from the fourth row.
The Spanish Honda rider, who leads Dovizioso by 11 points with three rounds left, will start on the inside of the grid, alongside his compatriot Maverick Vinales and French Yamaha racer Johann Zarco. Dovizioso will be hoping Marquez continues to have his impetuous moments around the fast, sweeping Phillip Island track. Marquez crashed out of last year's race while leading and already crowned world champion. He also came off his Honda bike during the 2014 race.
"We will see the feeling with the bike, it is important at the start that I warm the tyres well and we will see which rear tyres we will choose," Marquez said.