PHILLIP ISLAND (Australia), Oct 24 — World champion Marc Marquez beat brother Alex to clinch pole position Saturday at the Australian MotoGP, but he needed some white-knuckle laps to do so after crashing early on.
Under dark clouds and with spots of rain falling, the Spanish Ducati rider powered round the waterfront circuit at Phillip Island with a blistering lap of 1min 34.203 sec.
It was enough to topple Alex, also on a Ducati, by a massive 1.494sec, with Honda’s Johann Zarco third to join them on the front row.
Championship leader Jorge Martin, who is two points clear of Marc Marquez with five rounds of the season left, was fourth, but well off the pace.
