World champion Marc Marquez will start the Grand Prix of Argentina from pole position following a stunning display in qualifying.

The Honda rider once again showed his class at the Termas Rio Hondo circuit by posting a session best time of 1:37.802s, which proved to be more than 0.5s quicker than his nearest rival.

Such was Marquez’s dominance, the 22-year-old had time to switch bikes during the session before going on to increase his pole position margin.

The battle for second proved to be hard fought with Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro emerging on top just three events into the Japanese manufacturer’s return to grand prix motorcycle racing.

Second on the grid confirmed Espargaro and Suzuki’s pace after the Spaniard had topped the times in both practice sessions on Friday.

Ducati’s Andrea Iannone secured the final place on the front row of the grid as he pipped LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow by the slimmest of margins.

It proved to be a difficult session for Yamaha with two-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo fifth, while team-mate Valentino Rossi could only manage eighth, behind the Ducati’s of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci.

Meanwhile, Suzuki’s sister bike of Maverick Vinales and Tech 3 Yamaha rounded out the top 10.

Dani Pedrosa’s replacement Hiroshi Aoyama was a lowly 15th on the factory Honda.

Australia’s Jack Miller will start from 21st on the grid aboard the Open class LCR Honda.

Result: MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina Qualifying