Marc Marquez Overcomes Early Crash to Storm to Dominant Australian GP Pole

Marc Marquez secured his fourth pole position of the MotoGP season in emphatic fashion, mastering treacherous conditions to dominate qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

The battle for pole at Phillip Island was heavily impacted by the notorious coastal weather south of Melbourne. Forecasted rain hit during the Moto3 and Moto2 sessions, and while the downpour eased before MotoGP practice, the drying track still required riders to navigate qualifying on wet tyres.

Light drizzle returned at the start of Q2, forcing riders to push immediately for a fast banker lap before track conditions deteriorated. Marquez pushed the limits too hard, suffering a crash at Turn 4 on his opening flying lap before rushing back to the paddock to jump on his spare bike.

While his rivals continued to circulate on an increasingly slippery surface, Marquez headed back out and went straight to the top of the timesheets on his first flying lap with the backup machine. After a quick stop for fresh rubber, the Spaniard saw his benchmark briefly beaten, but he responded decisively on his final run, clocking a blistering 1:34.203 to take pole by 1.503 seconds over Johann Zarco.

Alex Marquez slipped in between the two at the death, finishing 1.494 seconds adrift of his older brother to lock out the front row in second. Zarco settled for third, while championship leader Jorge Martin will head the second row from fourth.

Martin ended up 1.577 seconds off pole and will share the second row with home favourite Jack Miller and last year's Australian GP winner Raul Fernandez. Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Marco Bezzecchi line up on row three, ahead of Diogo Moreira, Enea Bastianini, and Ai Ogura on the fourth row.

Earlier in Q1, Pramac Yamaha's Miller topped the timing sheets with a 1:35.461, edging Zarco by just 0.001 seconds as both wet-weather masters booked their spots in the pole shootout.

Brad Binder was the first rider to miss the Q2 cut, finishing 0.544 seconds shy of Zarco to qualify 13th alongside Iker Lecuona and Maverick Viñales on row five. Row six features Francesco Bagnaia, Augusto Fernandez, and Alex Rins, while last year's pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli bring up the rear of the grid.

Action at Phillip Island for the Australian Grand Prix, Round 18 of the 2026 MotoGP season, continues with the 13-lap Sprint race.