Motorcycling-Marquez closer to title with pole in Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Spanish rookie Marc Marquez edged closer to becoming the youngest MotoGP world champion when he grabbed pole position ahead of compatriot Jorge Lorenzo for the season-ending race in Valencia on Saturday. The 20-year-old Honda rider, who had set the fastest ever lap of the circuit in morning practice, was almost thrown off his bike in a high-speed wobble near the end of qualifying but ended the session with a best time of one minute 30.237 seconds. He was 0.340 of a second ahead of defending champion and compatriot Lorenzo on a Yamaha. Marquez leads the standings with 318 points, 13 ahead of Lorenzo, the only rival who can catch him and who has cranked up the pressure with victories in the last two races in Australia and Japan. (Writing by Mark Elkington in Madrid, editing by Alan Baldwin)