Rain unable to stop Marquez despite crash

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Sepang, November 3: Wet weather in Malaysia could not prevent MotoGP champion Marc Marquez from claiming pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday (November 3).

Heavy rain had seen qualifying red flagged, but when proceedings were resumed it was Marquez who was the class of the field once again.

The Repsol Honda crashed in the second session, but was still able to top the timesheets with a mark of 2:12.161.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Johann Zarco claimed second, his best effort 0.548 seconds adrift of Marquez, with Valentino Rossi completing the front row.

Marquez, who is in search of his ninth victory of his fifth title-winning season, now has 80 career poles to his name.

Because of the inclement weather, organisers have moved Sunday's race forward, with the lights set to go out at 13:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Provisional classification:

1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 2:12.161secs 2. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) 2:12.709s 3. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) 2:13.009s 4. Andrea Iannone (Suzuki Ecstar) 2:13.097s 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 2:13.183s 6. Jack Miller (Alma Pramac) 2:13.274s 7. Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac) 2:13.413s 8. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) 2:13.463s 9. Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto) 2:14.185s 10. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) 2:14.443s