FABIO QUARTARARO edged Marco Bezzecchi to secure pole position for both the Australian MotoGP sprint race and grand prix on Saturday. The French Yamaha rider set a stunning new lap record of 1 minute 26.465 seconds in the final moments of qualifying. Quartararo’s blistering pace was just 0.031 seconds faster than Bezzecchi’s previous best lap set on Friday. This achievement marks Quartararo’s fifth pole position of the season and his first since the Dutch MotoGP in June. “Really nice. It was a long time since since Assen,“ he said after the qualifying session. “Today is a really special one because I didn’t feel ready to make really a 26.4. The goal was to make 26.7 more or less. So I’m super happy.” The qualifying session proceeded without newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. Bezzecchi must serve a double long lap penalty during Sunday’s main race for causing the incident that injured Marquez in Indonesia. Australian rider Jack Miller secured third position on his Yamaha, earning his first front row start since Japan in 2023. Alex Marquez qualified sixth despite experiencing two crashes during the weekend. The Spanish rider currently holds an 88-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the battle for second place in the world championship. Marquez can secure the runner-up position in the standings by finishing the weekend 111 points clear of his Italian rival. Raul Fernandez qualified fourth on his Aprilia, while KTM’s Pedro Acosta will start from fifth position. Spanish rookie Fermin Aldeguer, who won the previous MotoGP in Indonesia, qualified seventh. Australia has only hosted one sprint race previously, with the 2023 event cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Strong winds are forecast for this weekend, prompting concerns among riders about racing conditions. MotoGP organizers have moved Sunday’s main race back by one hour to 3:00 pm local time in an attempt to avoid the worst weather. – AFP