PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia :Frenchman Fabio Quartararo said his pole position at the Australian Grand Prix was "really special" after the Yamaha rider shattered the lap record at Phillip Island on Saturday, narrowly beating Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi to the top spot.

Quartararo clocked a stunning time of one minute and 26.465 seconds, edging Italian Bezzecchi by 0.031 seconds to claim his fifth pole position of the season.

The 26-year-old last earned pole at the Dutch Grand Prix in June.

"Really nice. It was a long time since Assen!" Quartararo said. "Today is a really special one because I didn't feel ready to make really a 26.4. The goal was to make 26.7. So, I'm super happy.

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