Marc Marquez of Spain negotiates a curve during qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. It was Marquez's fourth pole of the season. (EPA)

AFP/Indianapolis

Marc Marquez captured the pole for Indianapolis Grand Prix with a track-record lap during Saturday’s qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 20-year-old Spaniard posted a time of one minute 37.958 seconds to better the previous track record of 1:38.813 by Dani Pedrosa.

Saturday’s top four qualifiers—Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow—all recorded times faster than the old track record. Pedrosa, Marquez’s Honda teammate, won last year’s title from pole.

“Woo, that’s pretty quick,” said American Ducati rider Nicky Hayden, who was sixth-quickest. “I just hope they don’t go that fast tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow in a hot, a very hot race,” Lorenzo said.

Marquez, the 2012 Moto2 champion, is making a phenomenal transition to MotoGP this year. With three wins in nine races this season, he’s been the sport’s most dominant and most consistent racer. Previously, he took pole at Austin, France and Germany. He leads Pedrosa by 16 in the points standings.

“Tomorrow will be a tough race because everybody is struggling quite a lot at the end of the race with the tyres,” Marquez said. “We are ready to fight for the win, but for sure, Jorge and Dani will be strong.”

Added Pedrosa: “I think, yeah, tomorrow it’s going to be a very hard race. It’s a track where you move a lot on the bike, so the fitness is very important.”

A mishap during morning practice ended Ben Spies’ comeback plans.

The American fell on turn four and got to his feet clutching his left shoulder. Race officials said he suffered a dislocation and will undergo additional exams today.

“I know what that feels like when you’re down on all fours just trying to get air,” Hayden said. “It’s really not fun. Hopefully, he’s back soon.”

Spies’ right shoulder, surgically reconstructed after a crash at last season’s Grand Prix of Malaysia, was not affected.

Spies finished tenth at this year’s season-opener in Qatar, but has been hampered by setbacks since then.

Spies took pole at Indy in 2010. He started in the top four three consecutive years and has a pair of top three finishes.

Scott Redding will have pole for Sunday’s Moto2 race. Redding’s 1:43.026 was the day’s quickest lap.

In Moto 3, Alex Rins will start from the front after a lap of 1:47.392. Right behind Rins was Alex Marquez, Marc’s brother, at 1:47.686.

WEST STRUGGLES IN QUALIFYING, TO START 23RD

After successful changes on his Speed Up prototype, QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West seemed set for a strong qualifying result at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. But the smallest mistakes and fractions of a second can make a dramatic difference in the hard-fought Moto2 category.

West found it harder than usual to fully concentrate on getting one immaculate lap together and when another rider got in his way on his fastest run, and he ended a disappointing 23rd on the grid.

Since West is usually much stronger in the race than in qualifying, nothing is lost yet for QMMF Racing — the 32-year-old Australian fighter continues to aim at a top-ten finish.

Young teammate Rafid Topan Sucipto retained his momentum on the second day of practice in Indianapolis and was delighted with his improvements.

In qualifying, the Indonesian teenager polished almost 1.4 seconds off his Friday lap time. His main goals for the race are consistency and a safe finish.

“The bike was working well, everything was good, but I still didn’t manage to get the result that we had hoped for. Towards the end things were getting better, but on my fastest lap I got held up a little by another rider. This wasn’t my biggest problem though. The biggest problem is myself, because I found it hard to fully concentrate today," said West.

"Now, I don’t really know what to expect for the race. It all depends on the start. At the last race in Germany I was in a bad position on the first lap and I still managed to get eighth place in the end. I am looking for something like that again. But you never know, it all depends how the first laps go and if I can get a good, clean run and not let the front guys get away too much!” the Aussie racer added.

Sucipto, who will start 33rd, said: “I improved my lap time by almost 1.4 seconds in comparison to yesterday, which makes me very happy. Indianapolis is a difficult circuit because it is so bumpy.”