MotoGP Argentina Qualifying: Marquez scorches to pole

In yet another demonstration of the fact that he is currently in a class of his own, Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez easily laid down two impressive laps in the final 15-minute QP2 session at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo circuit that were basically untouchable by anyone in the MotoGP field, garnering the 21-year-old Spaniard his third consecutive pole position in as many events this year. With the tarmac's grip improving significantly from Friday's practice sessions, Marquez swiftly laid down a 1:38.227 lap that was nearly a second quicker than everyone else. And then, with no one threatening his pole time as time was winding down, Marquez then ran an astounding 1:37.683 lap that put the pole out of reach.

"I like that I have an advantage over the second guy," said Marquez in the understatement of the year. "But tomorrow will be the most important. The (track's) grip is coming better and better, but only if you’re on the correct line. If you go offline, it’s quite slippery. It will be difficult because everything depends on the track temperature; everybody is able to use both rear tire (options) and both front tire (options), so we’ll have to wait to see what the track condition is. Today it improved a little bit, and tomorrow it may improve a little bit more, so we’ll have to see and maybe make a little change."

Lorenzo was lamenting how strong the Hondas are this season compared to last year, but he's resolute in trying his best. "The Hondas are very strong at all the tracks, but we’re trying, we’re trying to solve as much as possible the things that we can solve," said the two-time MotoGP world champion. "Before the qualifying we modified the bike a little bit, and this was great to have a better feeling. So I pushed at the maximum on a soft tire, and did a fast lap time, I was surprised. I didn’t expect to get second position, but this is the type of thing that can give you momentum for the next races. I would like to have a more competitive bike, but we are trying our best. Also with the new regulations with the engines, we cannot improve the engine. But we’re trying to improve the chassis and the electronics, and with the package we have, we’re trying to make the maximum potential.”

Marquez's teammate Dani Pedrosa looked like he might get the second position, but made a mistake and ran wide in turn 13, relegating him to the outside of the front row. "I wasn’t that strong in qualifying, and on top of that, I made a couple of mistakes, especially a big one in the last corner. But I still managed to be on the front row, so the best part of today is that we did a good pace for the race. We need to take advantage of the front row for the race."

MotoGP Argentina Qualifying results: