Marc Marquez will start the Phillip Island MotoGP Sprint from pole after turning a wet qualifying crash into a commanding recovery. He fell on the opening lap, switched to his spare bike and produced the fastest time by almost 1.5 seconds. The result puts the championship contender at the front despite the difficult start to the session.

Alex Marquez makes it a Ducati one-two on the front row, with Johann Zarco third for LCR Honda. Jorge Martin heads the second row as Aprilia’s leading rider and carries a two-point advantage over Marc Marquez in the standings. Jack Miller starts fifth in front of the home crowd, followed by Raul Fernandez in sixth for Trackhouse Aprilia. Zarco is a former Phillip Island winner, while Fernandez won last year’s race at the circuit.

Pedro Acosta starts seventh for KTM, ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi led Friday’s session but surrendered the most ground as the track became wet. Diogo Moreira, Enea Bastianini and Ai Ogura occupy row four. Row five features Brad Binder, Iker Lecuona and Maverick Viñales; Francesco Bagnaia, Augusto Fernandez and Alex Rins form row six; and Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli make up row seven.

The 13-lap Sprint is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. local time, or 5 a.m. in the United Kingdom. Showers are forecast for the rest of the day, with even heavier rain expected on Sunday. No penalties are currently listed for the grid. Luca Marini, however, has been declared unfit to ride because of a virus, meaning Honda HRC will have no rider taking part in the Australian races.