Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez bounced back from pre-season injury to make the perfect start to his second season in the premier class, claiming a dramatic last-gasp pole position for tomorrow’s Qatar GP under floodlights in the desert night.

The 21-year-old Repsol Honda RC213V rider, who became the youngest ever MotoGP World Champion last year at his first attempt, waited until 20 seconds before the fall of the flag to start his crucial flying lap. Skittering around the brightly lit Losail circuit, he ousted satellite GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider and fellow-Spaniard, Alvaro Bautista, from a maiden pole position by less than six hundredths of a second. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) will complete the front row of the grid.

Second Repsol Honda RC213V rider Dani Pedrosa will start the opening round of the 2014 MotoGP season from the second row of the grid, placed sixth. Marquez’s title rival last year, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), qualified fifth.

Marquez’s race-one pole comes in a remarkable return from injury. He fractured his right fibula (shin bone) in a training crash, missed the last two of three pre-season tests, and had not ridden a motorcycle for six weeks when he got back onto his Repsol machine on Thursday for the first free practice.

He has regained strength and confidence in every session, but still had some reservations about the strength of his leg over full race distance.

The former 125cc and Moto2 World Champion took six race wins in his remarkable debut season last year, breaking every “youngest-ever” record in the book.

Pedrosa’s second-row start means he will need to use all his legendary off-the-line skills tomorrow to make sure he gets away with the leaders. Hard work and steady progress through pre-season tests and the practice and qualifying sessions for the first race have given him confidence for when the chips are down in race conditions.

Pedrosa finished third overall last year, in another season when injury and misfortune blunted his title challenge. Now in his ninth season with the factory Repsol Honda team, he is starting out in top physical and mental condition.

Bautista’s last-minute loss of a first-ever pole position was not enough to erase his smile, after strong performances through all the practice session. The Spanish former 125cc World Champion has a special role on the satellite Honda RC213V, with exclusive use of Showa suspension and Nissin brakes, acting as race-development rider for the Japanese ancillaries, made by companies with strong links with Honda.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) was seventh, leading the third row of the grid. The only German rider in the premier class, he is aiming to improve on his seventh championship position last year, after a freak late-season injury spoiled his momentum.

Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R rider Nicky Hayden was the fastest of the four new production-racer Hondas, built for the “Open” category for independent teams. The 2006 Honda World Champion narrowly missed out on joining the top 12 for the “senior” Qualifying 2 session, placing 13th, two places ahead of team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama.

Class rookie Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini Honda RCV1000R) was 16th at his first attempt, less than one tenth slower than Aoyama; and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was 18th on the 23-strong grid.



Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: pole position, 1m 54.507s

“I’m really happy: this pole position is a special one for me, because after coming back from injury it gives me a boost in confidence. In any case, we know that tomorrow is the day that counts, and it’s in the race that points are decided, so we have to be very focused. It’s going to be very tough for me physically, because I don’t have much strength in my leg, and I have to compensate with my right arm. We are happy with how today went, and seem to have found a good set-up, with just a few details still to refine in warm-up. It will be difficult, because many riders have a pace within a tenth of one another, but we shall try to have a good race.”

Alvaro Bautista, FUN&GO Honda Gresini: second, 1m 54.564s

“For me this second place feels like pole position, because I have always struggled at this circuit in the past. Instead this weekend I have always felt comfortable with the bike, closing each session in the top positions, which means we have worked very well in winter testing. Too bad to have lost pole, but in the end Marquez was able to go faster. Tomorrow I expect a very tough race, but also very interesting: there are many riders on the same pace. It will be important to start from the front row. I hope to continue enjoying myself as so far … I will try to stay in the leading group, and to get a podium finish.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: sixth, 1m 54.703s

“The qualifying session was really closely contested today – especially in the final laps. Looking at things objectively, we have a good pace and were able to set a fast lap in the session, even though in the end we were sixth by a really narrow margin. We’re going to continue to be positive, to believe in the work we have been doing so far this weekend, and tomorrow we’ll give everything that we have to do well in the first race of the season.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: seventh, 1m 54.871s

“We improved the gap to the guys at the front, and this is quite positive. It was a very close qualifying, with many riders on the same pace. Our target was the second row, but seventh place is good anyway, and the good thing is we are not too far from the top. Considering the new rules and the actual situation with Rossi, Lorenzo and Pedrosa at the same pace as me, I think it will be an exciting race with many riders in a big group. It’s hard to make a prediction.”

Nicky Hayden, Drive M7 Aspar Honda: 13th, 1m 55.894s

“I didn’t expect to get down to the 1’55s without a tow, especially with the problems we’ve had with corner exit in the fourth section … but it still wasn’t enough to get into Q2! I’d like to be starting the season from a better position on the grid, but considering how new everything is for us we have to be satisfied, and we have to keep working to improve. It will be a tough race. I’ll try to get a good start and keep up a fast and consistent pace for 22 laps. I haven’t been focused on the other riders at all, so the first few laps should be interesting. Hopefully we can learn plenty and gather lots of useful data to help us in the future with the new Honda RCV1000R.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive M7 Aspar Honda: 15th, 1m 56.479

“From yesterday we changed some things on the bike and now I feel more comfortable in the corners … this was our goal. In qualifying I put in a fresh tyre and was surprised by such good grip at the rear. I could make a good second lap, and I expected even better on my third lap … but unfortunately the chequered flag was out. We made good progress here. We are considering using the softer tyre for the race, if I can manage it to the end.”

Scott Redding, FUN&GO Honda Gresini: 16th, 1m 56.555s

“I am satisfied with the improvements shown today, but unfortunately I was slowed down by a problem with the electronics just as I was getting busy in the qualifying session. When I entered the track, I felt that something was wrong: the engine kept cutting the power. I came back to the pits to try to solve the problem, but it was still there in my second exit, so I got on the second bike, but unfortunately there was time only for one attempt. However I’m happy because I found myself even better with the second bike, which I will ride again tomorrow in the warm up. We will also try to figure out which tyre we can use for the race. It would be nice to get some points tomorrow.”

Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing Honda: 18th, 1m 56.715

“Yesterday we had some problems with both tyres, the rear sliding. Today for free practice we had a couple of different settings on the two bikes, and we chose one of the options for qualifying. It started out very good: I managed to make my best time so far on my first flying lap. Unfortunately after that there were some crashes that slowed me down, and then I lost some time restarting the engine after stopping in the box. Then I had to go round a slower rider, which spoiled my next good lap … and then it was too late to improve.”

Qualifying position

1 Marc Marquez 1'54.507 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Alvaro Bautista 1'54.564 ESP HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
3 Bradley Smith 1'54.601 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Andrea Dovizioso 1'54.644 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Jorge Lorenzo 1'54.661 ESP YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Dani Pedrosa 1'54.703 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
7 Stefan Bradl 1'54.871 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
8 Cal Crutchlow 1'54.888 GBR DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Aleix Espargaro 1'54.986 ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
10 Valentino Rossi 1'55.096 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
11 Andrea Iannone 1'55.127 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
12 Pol Espargaro 1'55.152 ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
13 Nicky Hayden 1'55.894 USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
14 Colin Edwards 1'56.042 USA FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
15 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'56.479 JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
16 Scott Redding 1'56.555 GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
17 Yonny Hernandez 1'56.648 COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
18 Karel Abraham 1'56.715 CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing
19 Hector Barbera 1'57.006 ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
20 Danilo Petrucci 1'57.513 ITA ART IodaRacing Project
21 Broc Parkes 1'57.574 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
22 Mike De Meglio 1'57.667 FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
23 Michael Laverty 1'58.254 WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport

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