(Reuters) - Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin took pole position for the MotoGP season-opening Qatar Grand Prix after he smashed the lap record at the Lusail International Circuit on Saturday.

The Spaniard took pole with a time of 1:50.789, beating Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro by a whisker, while Enea Bastianini from Ducati's factory team completed the front row, 0.086 seconds behind Martin -- last year's championship runner-up.