Lorenzo Beats Marques to Qatar MotoGP Pole

Tonight marks the first qualifying session for the new series as Jorge Lorenzo beats Marques to Qatar MotoGP pole, making it the perfect start for his title defense.

He will start on the front of the grid, after securing his fourth Qatar Grand Prix pole position.

Lorenzo came in first position with a time record of 1m54.543s, 0.091s ahead of Marc Marques; the Spaniard set a 1’54.634s to line up second on the grid.

Marverick Vinales secured a place on the front row when he came in third with a record time of 1’54.693 on his final lap of the session. This is his second front row start in the premier class

Andrea Iannone came in fourth ahead of Valentino Rossi with a 1m54.693s. With a top speed of 349.7km/h, Andrea proved that the Ducati is still a force to be reckoned with on the straights.

Fresh off announcing a new two-year contract with Yamaha, Valentino Rossi completed the top five, losing out in the final sector.

Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith and Scott Redding completed the top 12, and formed an entirely British fourth row. All of the top 12 were within 0.965s.

There was an unfortunate fall during Q1 for Aleix Espargaro as he slid off at Turn 1, sprinting back to the pits on his second bike.

He was able to head back out with four minutes of Q1 remaining.Alvaro Bautista suffered a late fall during the session at Turn 14, both riders were unhurt.

Danilo Petrucci will not be racing on Sunday following complications with his right hand injury.

Sunday the 20th of March will see the first race of the year, starting at 21:00 Local Time at the Losail International Circuit.