MADRID: Ducati’s Marc Marquez secured his first pole position of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday, using his experience in the tricky wet conditions at Jerez to snatch top spot from seasoned veteran Johann Zarco of LCR Honda.
Reigning MotoGP champion Marquez clocked one minute and 48.087 seconds to claim his first pole since the Hungarian Grand Prix last year, edging out Zarco by just 0.140 seconds in Q2.
“Qualifying and practice are not my strongest point, but the fact that it was half conditions, wet, that is where normally I feel comfortable,” Spaniard Marquez said.
“Today was not the best feeling out there, but I was able to be fast... I’m happy for the pole and it will help for both races.”
The session showcased the value of experience as Zarco, who had to battle through Q1 to advance, initially set the fastest lap before Marquez snatched pole as the track began to dry.
The 35-year-old Zarco’s last-gasp attempt to reclaim top spot nearly ended in disaster when he briefly lost control at the final corner but he recovered as Marquez celebrated his first pole in eight months.
“In one moment I saw that I feel like Johann will beat me on that last lap, because I knew that I did a mistake on the last corner, but he did even a bigger mistake,” Marquez added.
ZARCO RELISHES TRICKY CONDITIONS
Zarco, clearly relishing the conditions, had prepared well for the wet weather but the Frenchman acknowledged the challenge of competing with Marquez in such conditions.
“I slept pretty well, hearing the rain in the room last night,” Zarco said with a smile.
“I really thought that pole position is doable. I was leading and Marc then did a good lap time.
“It’s fun, because Marc is very strong in all conditions. But in these conditions, he knows that I can try to beat him or fight with him... So it would have been nice to beat him just for this morning.”
VR46 Racing’s Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the front row in third after benefiting from a slipstream behind fellow Italian Marco Bezzecchi, who will start fourth on his Aprilia despite leading the championship standings.
The wet conditions caught out several riders, with Alex Marquez — fastest in Friday’s dry practice — and his Gresini Racing teammate Fermin Aldeguer both crashing in Q2. Aprilia’s Jorge Martin also suffered his third crash of the weekend.
KTM’s Pedro Acosta joins the second row in sixth alongside Bezzecchi and Alex, while Martin — currently second in the championship — was seventh fastest but was hit with a three-place grid penalty in Friday’s practice.
