PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia (AP) — Newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez overcame intermittent rain on Saturday to claim pole position for the Australian MotoGP for the fifth straight year.
The Spanish star, who clinched his seventh world title last week in Japan, had struggled to find the best setup for his Honda bike in practice. But he excelled in the wet during second qualifying to claim the 51st pole of his MotoGP career.
"It was so difficult to understand which parts (of the track) to push with the bike," Marquez said. "We are riding very fast and you see small drops of rain on your visor and you don't know where the limit is.
"But for one lap, it completely stopped raining and I kept pushing and gave everything on that lap because I knew it was dry. Then I saw it was raining a little bit and would not take the risk unless somebody else improved because (Sunday) is the race and we have seen many crashes here."
Maverick Vinales will start Sunday's race from second place, ahead of another Yamaha rider, Johann Zarco. Suzuki's Andrea Iannone starts fourth after topping the standings in free practice.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi starts seventh on his Yamaha, while Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, who is second in the world championship standings, starts ninth.
Mattia Pasini claimed pole position for the Moto2 race and Spain's Jorge Martin will be on pole after Moto3 qualifying.
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