Vinales snatches San Marino MotoGP pole

Misano Adriatico, Italy: Spaniard Maverick Vinales left it late before grabbing pole position for the San Marino MotoGP on Saturday ahead of Italy’s World Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso and Spanish title-holder Marc Marquez.

With just four seconds left in qualifying for Sunday's race at Misano the 22-year-old Yamaha rider crossed the line in a fastest final lap of 1min 32.439sec, upsetting local favourite Dovizioso.

Ducati's Dovizioso, 31, and defending world champion Marquez, who was unhurt after crashing on his final lap, will complete the front row.

"Today the bike was working really good," said Vinales. "So I knew if I was riding well I could take pole.

"The bike is improving race by race and I'm happy we still have room to improve. Let's hope it doesn't rain. But rain or no rain we have to be strong and competitive.

In a three-way battle, Dovizioso was on provisional pole as Vinales and Marquez began their final pushes, with the young Spaniard going fastest after Marquez fell out of contention.

"It's by far my best qualification ever in Misano," said Dovizioso, a native of Forlimpopoli, a town just 65km from the Misano circuit in Rimini.