Moto2: Marquez takes the honours in home qualifying

Alex Marquez has taken the Moto2 qualifying honours in his home race, securing pole position for tomorrow’s Catalan Grand Prix by upping the ante on Italian Grand Prix winner Mattia Pasini to beat him by 0.1 seconds at the chequered flag.

“I am really happy to be in pole position again in front of my home crowd. The heat is so intense that it is hard to be fast on such a slippery and bumpy surface and right now I just feel like jumping in a swimming pool to cool down! We’ve done a great job all weekend and the pole is fantastic to achieve.

“I was fast in FP3 this morning and felt confident I could battle for pole and I’m delighted I could get the job done. I made a great lap early in the session and I am so motivated to win in front of my home fans tomorrow. It is a big race for my team also, so it would be extra special to win for them with my fans cheering me on.”

Lorenzo Baldassarri rounded out the front row, but Marquez’s pole position could be vital in tomorrow’s race, as championship leader and Marc VDS teammate Franco Morbidelli ended up a distant sixth, behind Takaaki Nakagami and Thomas Luthi on the second row.

Brit Tarran Mackenzie, on his third outing on the Kiefer Racing Suter where he replaced Danny Kent, will start from 31^st, making progress to finish three seconds off Marquez’s pace.