Dani Pedrosa, on a Honda, took pole position for Sunday’s Catalunya MotoGP, qualifying ahead of Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo and teammate Marc Marquez, the championship leader, on Saturday.

It was the 45th pole position for the former 250cc world champion and his 26th in MotoGP as he timed 1min 40.985sec to outpace Spanish compatriots Lorenzo, by 0.115sec, and Marquez, who is chasing a seventh straight victory, by 0.150sec.

Marquez became the first rider since Italy’s Valentino Rossi in 2002 to win six successive races, when he edged out Lorenzo at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 1.

He will carry a healthy 53-point lead over Rossi into Sunday’s race at the Montmelo circuit while Pedrosa is just one point further back.

Germany’s Stefan Bradl will lead the second row as he finished fourth fastest at 0.235sec on a Honda LCR, with Rossi alongside him, 0.305sec slower than Pedrosa.

Another Spaniard, Aleix Espargaro, who was fastest in Friday’s practice on his Yamaha Forward, completes the second row.

Earlier, Marquez’s younger brother Alex set a qualifying record as he rode his Honda to pole position for the Moto3 Grand Prix with a time of 1min 50.232sec.

The 18-year-old finished his fastest lap a comfortable 0.618sec quicker than Italian KTM rider Enea Bastianini.

Spaniard Alex Rins, on a second Honda, was a further 0.062sec back to round out the top three while Australia’s championship leader Jack Miller could manage just ninth on the grid.