The young Spaniard made a name for himself in Qatar last season when he stormed to a maiden pole in just his second MotoGP appearance at the Doha Grand Prix, before finishing third in the race.
Martin will continue to use Ducati’s full 2022 engine and not the hybrid version factory team riders Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller have switched to.
In a thrilling first qualifying of the year, Martin snatched top spot on his final lap with a 1m53.011s to claim the fifth pole of his MotoGP career.
He headed Gresini’s Enea Bastianini on a 2021-spec Ducati, while Honda’s Marc Marquez completed the front row having last raced in Qatar in 2019.
Miller was the first of the factory team Ducatis in fourth, while Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was a strong fifth ahead of the sister factory team Honda of Pol Espargaro, Q1 pacesetter Brad Binder on the KTM and 2020 world champion Joan Mir on the Suzuki.
Bagnaia was ninth on the other factory team Ducati, while Alex Rins headed a disappointed…
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