Spaniard Jorge Martin set a lap record on his way to pole position for the season-opening Qatar MotoGP and sprint on Saturday with world champion Francesco Bagnaia starting on the second row.

Ducati-Pramac’s Martin, runner-up to Bagnaia in the world championship last season, clocked 1min 50.789sec on the wind-swept Lusail track to finish ahead of compatriot Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia and Italian Enea Bastianini of Ducati.

Italy’s reigning two-time world champion Bagnaia will start from the second row on his factory Ducati after clocking the fifth fastest time, behind South African Brad Binder, who managed to get up to fourth before his late crash.

Read the full story on the Times of Malta sports website...

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