World champion Marc Marquez continued his supreme domination of this year’s MotoGP championship when he claimed his ninth pole of the season for Repsol Honda ahead of today’s Czech Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, who has reeled off 10 wins in this year’s 10 races, topped the times by 0.129 seconds in qualifying as he bids to continue his record-breaking progress.

Marquez clocked a best lap of 1:55.585 to take the prime starting spot ahead of Italians Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone on the front row.

Briton Bradley Smith qualified fourth, joined on the second row by Spanish pair Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

At a track that had been tipped as one of its best opportunities to unseat Marquez and Honda, Yamaha’s first blow came when Valentino Rossi had a violent crash in practice four, falling moments before Alvaro Bautista did likewise at the same spot.

While Rossi was in pain, his team-mate Lorenzo seemed unable to get the Yamaha handling to his liking.

Only a last-gasp lap got him up from 11th to sixth, one place ahead of Rossi.

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