With a dominant performance in qualifying Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez will start from pole position for Sunday's Moto2 race at the Losail International Circuit.

The Spanish star was untouchable in claiming the fastest time with a 0.3s margin over nearest rival Lorenzo Baldassarri. 

The front row of the grid for the 20-lap Qatar Grand Prix was completed by Francesco Bagnaia. The top 13 riders on the timesheet were separated by just one second setting the scene for a fast and competitive opening to the Moto2 World Championship.

Márquez's time was his fastest of the weekend so far and more than seven tenths better than his previous best in Friday's FP2 session, confirming his status as the pacesetter for the championship.

The windy conditions and dusty track made things difficult for Moto2 rookie Joan Mir and the reigning Moto3 World Champion will start from 24th position, as he was unable to match his impressive pace in Friday practice.

Álex Márquez: 1st – 2.00.299
“I am really happy to start the season with this pole position, especially as this was a difficult session with the wind and dust on the track. As the session progressed the racing line became cleaner and I improved my time at the end. I think we are well prepared for any conditions tomorrow, with a good rhythm and strong race set-up.”

Joan Mir: 24th – 2.02.234
“Today has been really difficult for me, I struggled a lot to do the same times that I did in FP2 on Friday. I am not sure exactly why, so we need to look at the data tonight and try to be more comfortable in these conditions. For sure we need to make a step to have a chance of a good result in the race.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Álex has completed two fantastic days of practice and qualifying, he has been very impressive, and most importantly he has a really good rhythm for the race. I expect Álex to make a very strong start to the season here. For Joan it has not been so easy in his first official weekend in Moto2 but we knew it could be like this and he is still not 100% fit. I feel Joan can challenge for points tomorrow and if he does it will be a good boost for the start of his rookie season.”