Marc Marquez takes pole position for Australian Grand Prix

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:26 p.m. ET

foxsports

MELBOURNE, Australia — Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez will start from pole position in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after dominating qualifying on Saturday.

Spain's Marquez, on a Honda, was fastest in all four sessions over the Phillip Island circuit and finished the second qualifying session 0.316 seconds ahead of Italian Andrea Iannone on a Ducati. Jorge Lorenzo of Spain, riding a Yamaha, was third.

Lorenzo is 18 points behind Italian teammate and MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi, who will start from the second row of the grid in seventh position.

Marquez had a best lap time of 1 minute, 28.364 seconds to claim his eighth pole of the season, and the 30th of his career despite nursing a fractured hand which he sustained before last week's Japan Grand Prix.