(Reuters) – Jorge Martin overtook Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia on his final lap to snatch pole position at the Grand Prix of the Americas as Ducati riders dominated qualifying in Austin, Texas on Saturday to secure the top five places on the grid.
Pramac Ducati’s Martin was three thousandths of a second quicker than Miller as he beat Marc Marquez’s lap record to lead the Ducati quintet in qualifying, with Bagnaia completing the front row in third.
Spaniard Martin’s team mate Johann Zarco jumped up to fourth late in the session while Enea Bastianini recovered from a crash on his initial run to finish fifth.
World champion Fabio Quartararo also overcame a crash to finish behind Bastianini while Honda’s Marquez will start ninth on his return to MotoGP action after spending the last two races on the sidelines due to vision problems.
The qualifying result was Marquez’s worst in Austin, where he has won seven of the last eight races including last year’s event.
A MotoGP winner for the first time last weekend in Argentina, Aleix Espargaro will start 13th on the grid after a late accident ended the championship leader’s hopes of reaching Q2.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
