Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/281887
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 MARCH 2014 53 REIGNING World Champion Marc Márquez began his MotoGP title defence in perfect fashion as he pumped in a stunning last gasp lap to claim pole position for the season opening race in Qa- tar. Márquez narrowly eclipsed Gresini rider Álvaro Bautista and Tech 3's Bradley Smith, who claimed the first front row start of his MotoGP career during a dra- matic session. Friday pace setter Aleix Espar- garó crashed out of Q2 at Turn 2 when he lost the front end of his Forward Racing machine under braking. Márquez - riding with a broken leg which he sustained last month - subsequently took provi- sional pole during his first run in the 15 minute session and his time was almost beaten by Smith. The Brit was faster across the first half of the lap but lost time during the final sector and was just 0.002s slower than Márquez. Márquez's time came under threat from Ducati 's Andrea Dovizioso, Yamaha's Jorge Loren- zo and Bautista but only the lat- ter was able to eclipse the time set by the reigning World Cham- pion. Espargaró returned to the track on his spare bike and was quicker than Márquez's time as he entered the final sector but he again crashed out and wrecked his chances. It was a disappointing evening for the Spaniard, who had dominated the three practice ses- sions in the run up to qualiying. Márquez quickly responded to Bautista's time and stole top spot with a 1:54.507, 0.057s faster than Bautista, with Smith less than a tenth of a second behind in third. Dovizioso managed fourth, ahead of the Factory bikes of Lorenzo and Márquez's Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa. LCR's Stefan Bradl was seventh, while Ducati 's Cal Crutchlow made it through Q1 and will line up from eighth place on the grid. Espargaró's time was good enough for ninth, despite his two crashes, with Valentino Rossi in tenth. Andrea Iannone and Pol Es- pargaró rounded out the Q2 run- ners in 11th and 12th. The first 15 minute session fea- tured the riders who failed to set a top 10 time during practice – which automatically secures a berth in Q2 – and ultimately the younger Espargaró and Crutchlow progressed with ease. Nicky Hayden failed to make it through to Q2 and the American rider will line up from 13th on the grid, ahead of Colin Edwards and Hiroshi Aoyama. Britain's Scott Redding will start from 16th, ahead of Yonny Hernández. Hernández was an early casualt y as the Pramac rider lost control under braking for Turn 2 and slid off track. Mike Di Meglio was the other rider to encounter problems during Q1 as he took a tumble but was able to walk away from his ac- cident. Today's race begins under the f loodlights at 22:00 local time (GMT+3) MOTOGP TENNIS Sport Pole for Marquez for first race of 2014 Starting Grid - 2014 Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix 1. M. Marquez Repsol Honda 01:54.507 2. A. Bautista Gresini 01:54.564 3. B. Smith Tech 3 01:54.601 4. A. Dovizioso Ducati 01:54.644 5. J. Lorenzo Yamaha 01:54.661 6. D. Pedrosa Repsol Honda 01:54.703 7. S. Bradl LCR 01:54.871 8. C. Crutchlow Ducati 01:54.888 9. A. Espargaro Forward 01:54.986 10. V. Rossi Yamaha 01:55.096 11. A. Iannone Pramac 01:55.127 12. P. Espargaro Tech 3 01:55.152 Del Potro 'to have wrist surgery, miss season' US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will undergo a second wrist operation in four years on Monday and miss the rest of the season, Argentine media re- ported. Del Potro, who pulled out of the Miami tournament this week, will have surgery on his left wrist which he uses for his backhand, having had an operation on his right wrist in May 2010. The big Argentine, who won the Sydney tournament in Janu- ary before a disappointing Aus- tralian Open, has dropped down the ranking from world number four to eighth and last played at Dubai nearly a month ago. The 25-year-old tried to over- come his problem with physi- otherapy but has now decided to resort to American surgeon Ri- chard Berger, the wrist specialist who operated on his right wrist in 2010, the daily La Nacion re- ported on Saturday. "I have the experience of how the rehabilitation is, the time it takes," La Nacion quoted Del Potro as having said when he pulled out of Indian Wells two weeks ago and foresaw the pos- sibilit y of surgery. "This time, a good thing is I won't lose so much time seek- ing a diagnosis. In 2010, it took me two to three months to find the right diagnosis and the right doctor. This time, luckily, I know." Del Potro, bronze medal win- ner at the London Olympic Games in 2012, had been looking forward to a season in which he would attempt to break into the top ranking places and fight for another grand slam title having won the US Open in 2009 before his previous wrist problems. Juan Martin Del Potro