Quartararo storms to Aragon GP pole after practice crash

(Reuters) - Championship leader Fabio Quartararo of Petronas Yamaha shrugged off a crash in practice on Saturday to clinch pole position at the Aragon Grand Prix.

The Frenchman lost control of his bike at turn 14 in Free Practice 3 (FP3) and was thrown off, landing hip first on the tarmac before being taken away on a stretcher.

X-rays showed he had not broken any bones and the 21-year-old ensured he would start ahead of Yamaha's Maverick Vinales in second while LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow returned to the front row for the first time since last year's U.S. Grand Prix.

"Honestly, as soon as I had the crash I thought, 'Could I ride?' When I crashed it felt quite bad," Quartararo said.

"I'm so happy. Yesterday I had a crash and again this morning. FP4 was not so bad and qualifying was good. I could do better because that lap was not perfect."

Quartararo's team mate Franco Morbidelli will start fourth on the grid while Pramac Racing's Jack Miller is the lone Ducati in the top five. Suzuki's Joan Mir, second in the championship, was sixth fastest.

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, third in the championship, failed to make it into the second qualifying session.

Seven-times premier class champion Valentino Rossi of Yamaha is not competing this weekend after testing positive for COVID-19.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)