(Reuters) -Marc Marquez set the fastest time in qualifying at the Grand Prix of the Americas on Saturday as the factory Ducati rider and MotoGP championship leader stormed to his third straight pole position of the season.
Marquez, a record seven-times winner at the Circuit of the Americas, had set the fastest lap in Q2 but his brother Alex of Gresini Racing briefly took top spot with just over a minute left in the session.
Marc suffered a crash in practice on a wet track on Friday but on a sunny day in Austin, the six-times MotoGP champion snatched pole back with a time of two minutes 1.088 seconds to maintain his perfect record this season.
“It was the first time that I put a new rear tyre with the with the soft compound. The bike changed a bit and then I had some movement that I didn’t expect, a bit too aggressive (to handle),” Marc said.
“I’m fast, but now I need to try to ride a bit smoother. I think I can but let’s see in the sprint if we can have the same feeling.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 Racing went second-fastest but his lap amid yellow flags was initially cancelled before being reinstated to push Alex down to third.
“I saw that my lap time got cancelled, I was so angry. Then I saw it again that it appeared again and I was so happy,” Di Giannantonio said.
“The team deserves it, we are working so well since winter. So all thanks to them and to Ducati, the bike is amazing.”
Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta will start fourth on the grid and he is joined on the second row by Di Giannantonio’s teammate Franco Morbidelli while twice champion Francesco Bagnaia was disappointed to finish only sixth-fastest.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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