TERMAS HONDO: Ducati’s Marc Marquez stormed to his second pole of the season with a lap record in cloudy conditions at the Argentina Grand Prix on Saturday, pipping his brother Alex to top spot as the leading two riders in the championship continued their dominance.

Championship leader Marc had said on Friday that someone could clock one minute and 36 seconds and the Spaniard himself delivered with a time of 1:36.917 on his final attempt, to record his 96th pole across all classes.

Marc had also taken pole at the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix, where he went on to win the sprint and race.

“On the first attempt it was difficult with traffic (on the track) but on the second try I was able to go alone. I’m happy to go under 1:37 but now we need to be focused for the race,” Marc said in a pit-lane interview.

Gresini Racing’s Alex was 0.246 seconds behind while LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco had the third-fastest time to put the struggling Japanese manufacturer on the front row for the first time in two years.

“It’s so nice to be with the top brothers. They are still too fast but I am one of them,” Zarco said.

“We want to be in the top 10... if there’s a chance to do better, we will take it.”

Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia was fourth fastest and is joined on the second row by Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta and VR46 Racing rider Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo will start on the third row alongside VR46 Racing’s Franco Morbidelli and Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi while Honda’s Joan Mir rounds off the top 10.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2025