(Reuters) - Marc Marquez once again found his groove at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the reigning MotoGP champion from Spain won his third consecutive pole at the Brickyard on Saturday.
Marquez, looking to win his fifth Indianapolis Grand Prix in a row, was the only rider to break the one-minute, 32-second barrier.
The Spaniard turned in the fastest qualifying lap of 1:31.884, with his Repsol (MADRID:REP) Honda team mate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa, second fastest with a lap of 1:32.055 to sit one-two on the grid for Sunday's 27-lap race.
Marquez's rival, Spain's Jorge Lorenzo, was third best at 1:32.186 to join his countrymen on the front row.
Italian Valentino Rossi, this year's points leader through nine races, slipped from third to eighth in the final qualifying session at 1:32.511 on his Yamaha. Marquez is gunning for his second successive victory after winning the previous race on the MotoGP circuit, the Deutschland Grand Prix, for only his second win of the season.
The 22-year-old Marquez, who won 13 of the 18 races in 2014, is fourth in the standings with 114 points, 65 behind Rossi and 52 in back of Yamaha rider Lorenzo, who holds down second spot.