Buenos Aires - XINHUA
Spain's Marc Marquez (Honda) will start in pole position on Sunday during the Argentina Grand Prix, the second race of the 2016 MotoGP season, in Termas de Rio Hondo.
The current rankings leader, who already won the first race of the season in Qatar, set a time of 1m39s411, 0.375 seconds faster than fan favorite Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and 0.533 seconds faster than his compatriot, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
In front of a packed circuit, Marquez nailed his third pole position in as many appearances at Termas de Rio Hondo, although he did suffer a spectacular fall toward the end of qualifying.
In the same race in 2015, Rossi beat Marquez in a tightly contested race, which marked the birth of a severe rivalry between the two.
Back in 2014, Marquez won here on the circuit's inaugural MotoGP race.
The race will start at 4pm local time on Sunday, last 25 laps and see a star-packed first row, with Marques, Rossi and Lorenzo lining up.