Marco Bezzecchi claimed pole position for the Thai MotoGP season opener despite crashing in the final stages of qualifying at Buriram.

The Aprilia star continued his reign at the top of the timesheets despite losing the front and landing heavily into the final corner.

It was Bezzecchi’s second crash of the day, after a final practice spill at the hairpin, but he had already done enough to secure pole position by 0.035s from reigning champion Marc Marquez.

“I’m okay, but when the airbag exploded, my ass was a little bit painful!” Bezzecchi said of his accident. “But all okay fortunately.

“Qualifying was good. A small mistake in the end, but fortunately the lap time was good enough to not lose the pole position.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

“It will be tough this afternoon, also tomorrow, but we are quite strong so we will try to fight with the top guys.

“Marc, compared to yesterday, did a big step, so he will be for sure super strong but I will try my best.”

Show Instagram Embedded Content

Loading this video will expose you to potential cookies and tracking by the provider

Last year’s double Buriram winner from pole position, Marc Marquez had been only eighth heading into his final qualifying run.

“Yeah, it was tough, especially because on the first tyre I felt not so good and I said ‘okay what’s going on here?’. But on the second time attack from the out lap, I feel much better,” Marquez explained.

“I already attacked in the first lap. I saw the lap time and I say ‘enough’. The front row was the main target, and I thought that 28.6 was enough for the first row.”

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

While Bezzecchi and Marquez have passed the favourite tag back and forth, Raul Fernandez surprised with third for Trackhouse Aprilia.

“Yesterday we had a lot of work because during the pre-season I didn’t really feel comfortable on the time attack,” he said. “But today we changed some things on the bike, I started to feel that I can do what I want, so thanks to the team and Aprilia.  

“We are in a really good position, not just on the grid also with the race pace. We are ready so let’s try to enjoy.”

Row two of the grid will be formed by VR46 Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi’s team-mate Jorge Martin and the top KTM of Pedro Acosta.

“It’s a pity because my two good laps weren’t clean,” said di Giannantonio. “If we had maximised the lap, we could have done something better. 

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

“We knew our rivals would be very strong, but we’re very happy with our result. 

“We’re close and the pace is good. We’re confident and ready for the Sprint, which will be a lot of fun because we will all be very competitive.”

Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Franco Morbidelli (VR46) complete row three.

Joan Mir was the top Honda rider in tenth.

The biggest upset was Francesco Bagnaia’s failure to advance past Qualifying 1, leaving the factory Ducati rider to start from 13th place.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Reigning world champions Diogo Moreira (Moto2) and Toprak Razgatlioglu  (WorldSBK) will start their first MotoGP race from 15th and 21st on the grid, respectively.

The fastest Yamaha qualifier was Fabio Quartararo in 16th, one-second behind Bezzecchi’s pole time.

The 13-lap Buriram Sprint race starts at 3pm local time (8am UK).

Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter