Marc Marquez beats Alex for Thai MotoGP pole: “Now it’s the important part”

Marc Marquez will start his first MotoGP races as a Ducati Lenovo rider from pole position at Buriram.

Fastest in pre-season testing, then Friday practice, Marquez’s pole was not a surprise, but he admitted to feeling pressure ahead of his first qualifying in ‘red’.

“Super happy to start in this way,” said Marquez, seeking to end a four-year title drought after moving to the factory Ducati team.

“When you arrive in an official team you have pressure, especially if you are in the best team of the moment.

“But I feel super good all weekend, I’m riding in a good way. And let’s see.

“Now it’s the most important part: The Sprint and [GP] Race. We will try to do a good start, keep our level. We have a good pace but in races anything can happen.

“I’m also super happy to share the front row with my brother.”

Marc was only 0.146s quicker than younger brother and former Gresini Ducati team-mate Alex, who confirmed his pre-season form was not a mirage.

“The main job today was the front row in this heat to avoid problems with the front tyre,” smiled Alex. “These two guys [Marc and Bagnaia] have something slightly more but you never know.

“For sure I will fight but we need to build a solid base in the first race weekend.”

Marc’s new team-mate Francesco Bagnaia salvaged a front row after battling through Qualifying 1, the legacy of an incorrect yellow flag and then obstruction from Franco Morbidelli.

Eager to save a second new tyre for Q2, Bagnaia remained in the pits for the closing stages of Qualifying 1, watching on pensively as others tried to knock him from the top.

“The first white hair on my head comes today!” he joked. “It was not an easy choice but it was the correct choice because the second tyre helped me a lot to be on the front row.

“It was just a shame to be in Qualifying 1 after what happened yesterday. But we are on the front row and we know we are faster on pace than we are on one lap…”

Bagnaia was 0.173s behind Marc Marquez.

Jack Miller joined Bagnaia in breaking out of Qualifying 1, then took advantage of a tow behind the Italian to delight Pramac Yamaha with fourth place on the grid in Qualifying 2.

Rookie Ai Ogura was arguably the hero of the session, finishing fifth for Trackhouse, just 0.352s from pole, and top Aprilia in his very first MotoGP qualifying!

Franco Morbidelli will complete row two for VR46 but has a three place grid penalty to serve on Sunday (but not the Sprint) for holding up Bagnaia yesterday.

Pedro Acosta was top KTM in seventh ahead of Ogura’s team-mate Raul Fernandez.

Factory Aprilia star Marco Bezzecchi and Honda’s Joan Mir both crashed in the closing stages, leaving them to start ninth and eleventh respectively and bringing out yellow flags that dampened the end of the session.

Monster Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was tenth with countryman Johann Zarco twelfth for LCR Honda.

The 13-lap Thai MotoGP Sprint race starts at 3pm local time, when temperatures are set to hit 38 degrees.