Marquez seizes Indianapolis MotoGP pole
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AFP) - Marc Marquez captured the pole for Sunday's Indianapolis Grand Prix with a track-record lap during Saturday's qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 20-year-old Spaniard posted a time of one minute 37.958 seconds to better the previous track record of 1:38.813 by Dani Pedrosa.
Saturday's top four qualifiers - Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow - all recorded times faster than the old track record. Pedrosa, Marquez's Honda teammate, won last year's title from pole.
"Woo, that's pretty quick," said American Ducati rider Nicky Hayden, who was sixth-quickest. "I just hope they don't go that fast tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow in a hot, a very hot race," Lorenzo said.
Marquez, the 2012 Moto2 champion, is making a phenomenal transition to MotoGP this year.
With three wins in nine races this season, he's been the sport's most dominant and most consistent racer. Previously, he took pole at Austin, France and Germany. He leads Pedrosa by 16 in the points standings.
"Tomorrow (Sunday) will be a tough race because everybody is struggling quite a lot at the end of the race with the tyres," Marquez said. "We are ready to fight for the win, but for sure, Jorge and Dani will be strong."
Added Pedrosa: "I think, yeah, tomorrow it's going to be a very hard race. It's a track where you move a lot on the bike, so the fitness is very important."
A mishap during morning practice ended Ben Spies' comeback plans.
The American fell on turn four and got to his feet clutching his left shoulder. Race officials said he suffered a dislocation and will undergo additional exams Monday.
"I know what that feels like when you're down on all fours just trying to get air," Hayden said. "It's really not fun. Hopefully, he's back soon."
Spies' right shoulder, surgically reconstructed after a crash at last season's Grand Prix of Malaysia, was not affected.
Spies finished tenth at this year's season-opener in Qatar, but has been hampered by setbacks since then.
Spies took pole at Indy in 2010. He started in the top four three consecutive years and has a pair of top three finishes.
Scott Redding will have pole for Sunday's Moto2 race. Redding's 1:43.026 was the day's quickest lap.
In Moto 3, Alex Rins will start from the front after a lap of 1:47.392. Right behind Rins was Alex Marquez, Marc's brother, at 1:47.686.
