MotoGP 2021: Maverick Vinales claims pole position at Dutch MotoGP, Marc Marquez to begin in 20th position-Sports News , Firstpost

File image of Maverick Vinales. AP

Assen: Maverick Vinales, riding a Yamaha, will start in pole position for Sunday’s Dutch MotoGP after dominating all three free practices and qualifying.

The Spaniard, who had been fastest in all three practice sessions, clocked 1min 31.814sec, a new track record at Assen.

Vinales’ French teammate and championship leader Fabio Quartararo was second, at 0.071sec, with Ducati’s Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia in third (+0.302).

It will be Vinales’ first pole since the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, capping a remarkable turnaround for the Spanish rider, who finished last in last week’s German MotoGP.

He is clearly enjoying his return to the track nicknamed the “Temple of Speed”, having already won the last MotoGP there in 2019 and also triumphed there twice in the lower formulas.

Italian Valentino Rossi, the former seven-time world champion who has won 10 times at the Assen track, will start in 12th.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez of the Repsol Honda Team, who had a heart-stopping crash in practice on Friday, will bring up the rear in 20th position.