SPIELBERG BEI KNITTELFELD: Jorge Martin grabbed pole position for the Styrian Grand Prix in a frantic finish to qualifying on Saturday. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo crossed with a faster time at the end of the session, but his lap was scrubbed out because he exceeded track limits, while six-time world champion Marc Marquez, pushing hard, crashed on his final lap. Martin, a Spaniard who rides for Ducati satellite team Pramac, grabbed his second career pole position in 1min 22.94sec, a new lap record at the Red Bull Ring. Francesco Bagnaia, an Italian who rides for the Ducati factory team was second, 0.044sec slower. Frenchman Quartararo completed the front row on his Yamaha. There were two more Ducatis on the second row on the fastest track on the MotoGP calendar. Australian Jack Miller was fourth on a factory bike with Frenchman Johann Zarco sixth on a Ducati Pramac. World champion Joan Mir was sandwiched between them on a Suzuki. Before Miguel Oliveira won on a KTM last year, Ducati had dominated on the track, which favours raw speed, winning the previous five races. Martin, a rookie, took pole in the second race of the season but then missed three rounds after undergoing surgery after breaking a hand and a foot in a smash in Portugal. He said he could have gone faster. “It wasn’t a perfect lap, on the second corner I blocked the front,” he said. “I made a mistake with the gear box on corner four.” “I finished the lap and I saw 22.9 and I thought ‘oh that’s a good time’!” “When I saw I was in pole, I was amazed.” Quartararo was also disappointed. “It’s a shame because I had a track limit,” he said before adding that he was happy with a front row place on a track where the Yamaha’s slightly lower top speed can become a handicap. “I did the maximum with what I had today,” the Frenchman said. “Looking at the top speed on this track, I think it’s so important.” Quartararo said he was hoping for a cloud to go with his silver lining. “It looks like tomorrow it’s going to rain so its good to have a great position on the grid,” he said. A few thunderstorms, which would slow the top speeds, are forecast for the area tomorrow. Marc Marquez of Honda was eighth, and will start between two of his Spanish compatriots, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) on the third row. Oliveira, who hurt a hand in a crash on Friday, was 12th. Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha-SRT, who announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of 2021, was 17th. During the morning practise sessions KTM announced that Raul Fernandez will be joining their satellite team KTM-Tech3 next season. The 20-year-old Spaniard is riding for KTM in Moto2 and is second in the championship behind his team-mate Remy Gardner. The team had already announced that the Australian would be joining KTM-Tech3 next season. The team’s current riders are 20-year-old Spaniard Iker Lecuona and Italian veteran Danilo Petrucci, who were both among the five slowest qualifiers.