Maverick Vinales has secured pole position for the opening grand prix of the 2019 MotoGP season in Qatar with Australian Jack Miller fourth.

Miller was one of a handful of riders to crash on Saturday with the Ducati rider’s hopes of pole ending when he came unstuck on turn two, leaving him with a best time of 1min 53.809sec.

Yamaha rider Vinales took P1 after a lap of 1:53.546 but only after dramatic sessions which featured a series of crashes on Saturday, headed by two spills for Jorge Lorenzo.

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso (1:53.744) and reigning world champion Marc Marquez (1:53.745) on his Honda will start on the front row the grid with Vinales.

Honda’s former triple world champion Lorenzo described himself as being “in pain everywhere” after a crash in the morning’s third practice and, after being given medical clearance to compete in qualifying, another in Q1.

Still not fully recovered from a wrist injury he suffered during training, the Spaniard will start at the back of the field.

Explaining how he was suffering from pain in his back, wrist, fingers and feet, Lorenzo said he believed the difficult cold and windy conditions at the Losail circuit would make Sunday’s race “a survival test for everyone”.

Tito Rabat and Johann Zarco also crashed in qualifying on the same second turn where Miller crashed and Lorenzo suffered one of his tumbles.

Marquez conceded that conditions were “scary” for the riders and said the race’s evening start time on Sunday could still prove problematic for the field.

French rookie Fabio Quartararo will start from fifth while Cal Crutchlow was sixth fastest.