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MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin has won the sprint race at Phillip Island and will start from pole in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Spain's Jorge Martin has extended his MotoGP world championship lead heading into the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with a dominant performance in the sprint race.
Martin snared pole position in qualifying at Phillip Island for the third consecutive year and led from start to finish in Saturday's sprint, finishing 1.520 seconds clear of second-placed Marc Marquez.
Enea Bastianini was third, earning a fourth consecutive sprint podium, while Australia's Jack Miller, who was 16th in qualifying, was one of several riders who crashed out.
Maverick Vinales and Marco Bezzechi were also involved in a huge crash that sent both riders skidding across the gravel.
Martin (404 points) picked up 12 points for his sprint race win, increasing his margin over title rival Francesco Bagnaia from 10 points to 16.
Reigning world champion Bagnaia (388 points) finished fourth, earning six points.
More points are up for grabs in Sunday's grand prix, with only three race weekends left after this.
Martin was in control throughout the sprint after Marquez dropped from second to eighth in a poor start before clawing his way back onto the podium.
"I thought it was going to be much more difficult with Marc (Marquez) really close behind me, but I don't know what happened in the first few laps," Martin said.
"I saw it was increasing a lot, the gap, so I was trying to keep a really fast pace.
"When I saw I had a big gap already then I managed a bit to make it until the end.
"It wasn't easy. The wind was a lot and it wasn't constant, it was like coming and going out.
"So finally winning again I am super happy and we have to be focused on tomorrow, it's going to be a really long race."
Marquez appeared the only rider who had the pace to fight with Martin, but he was made to pay for his early error.
"I didn't calculate well and I nearly touched him and then I picked up the bike, and with the wind and everything I went wide ... but the pace was there," Marquez said.
"Let's see if tomorrow I can avoid the mistake of that first corner.
"But the feeling of the bike was good and the pace was very similar to Jorge (Martin), so let's see if tomorrow we can fight with him."
It was the first MotoGP sprint race at the famous Victorian circuit, after last year's planned sprint was postponed and then cancelled because of bad weather.
Early on Saturday, wet conditions made racing difficult for Moto3 riders, with Spainish duo Joel Esteban and Xabi Zurutuza among those who crashed in practice.
There is only a slight chance of rain forecast for Sunday's grand prix.