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Marquez fastest in Qatar testing

World champion Marc Marquez arrives in Argentina for the third leg of the MotoGP championship with a spring in his step after dominating last weekend's Grand Prix of the Americas

World champion Marc Marquez of Spain led the way in all three free practice sessions on Thursday ahead of Sunday's season-opening Qatar MotoGP. The 22-year-old Honda rider, winner in Qatar last season, finished 0.096sec ahead of Britain's Cal Crutchlow on his Honda LCR. Italy's Andrea Iannone was third-fastest at 0.170sec with the Ducati rider crashing late in the session after spending a long spell in front. Marquez's teammate Dani Pedrosa, who has never won in 11 attempts in Qatar, was fifth-fastest ahead of Italy's Andrea Dovizioso. The two Yamahas of Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo and nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy were eighth and ninth respectively.