Seventh heaven as Marquez grabs MotoGP pole in Austin

The Spanish MotoGP star bagged his seventh consecutive pole at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas after posting a fastest lap of 2min 3.787sec, early in the qualifying session.

Italian rival Valentino Rossi was second fastest in 2:04.060 while Britain’s Cal Crutchlow was third quickest in 2:04.147.

Marquez has won at Austin from pole position every year since the race arrived on the MotoGP calendar in 2013.

On Saturday’s evidence, the Repsol Honda rider looks unbeatable once more after a dominant display on the counter-clockwise Austin circuit.

Marquez’s quickest time came on only his second lap, and his rivals struggled to make much headway for the remainder of the session, with no other rider managing to duck below the 2min 4sec barrier.

Marquez arrived in Texas fresh from a superb victory over Rossi in Argentina, where he romped home by 10 seconds at the Termas de Rio Hondo.

The Spaniard leads the overall championship standings by four points from Andrea Dovizioso heading into Sunday’s race.

Ducati rider Dovizioso failed to make qualifying two on Saturday, finishing with the 13th fastest time of 2:05.907.