Marquez battles fire, damp track to take pole at Argentina GP

Alex Marquez overcame a crash and fire on his Gresini Ducati machine in the first qualifying session to take his maiden pole position in MotoGP at the Argentina Grand Prix Saturday, on a damp track where his tyre gamble paid off.

Marquez had initially topped Q1 to move into Q2, but he had to switch bikes after his machine caught fire after a fall, and he had to abandon it on the side of the track as marshals extinguished the flames licking the bottom of the bike.

• 10th NASS: Jigawa, Kwara reps join speakership race
• Party crisis: How PDP, APC national chairmen lost their seats since 1999

But as the track began to dry up, several riders switched to slick tyres and Marquez who hitched a ride back to the paddock.