Bezzecchi takes pole at inaugural Indian MotoGP

NOIDA, India : Marco Bezzecchi of VR46 Racing took his third pole position of the season at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix on Saturday, with Jorge Martin and reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the all-Ducati front row.

Bezzecchi clocked the best time of one minute, 43.947 seconds to pip Pramac Racing's Martin by 0.043 seconds for his first pole since the British GP in August. Bagnaia of the factory Ducati team was a further 0.21 seconds behind.

Bagnaia holds a 36-point lead over Martin in the overall standings, with Bezzecchi a further 29 points behind in third.

Luca Marini, Bezzecchi's team mate, was fourth ahead of factory Honda duo Joan Mir and Marc Marquez. The sprint race takes place later on Saturday.

Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez has been ruled out of the remaining MotoGP weekend after suffering a double rib fracture in qualifying, his team said.

He secured a Q2 spot but crashed on his last Q1 lap and did not return for the second session, before being taken to hospital for further examination.