Moto2: Barbera tops wet first qualifying

But having snatched the top spot from former world championship leader Mika Kallio, the Spaniard promptly ran off track at Turn Five and plonked his Team Toth Aprilia in the barrier.

Relatively undamaged, both bike and rider returned to the pits under their own steam to begin celebrating.

For KTM team leader Kallio, the session was still a pleasing one as the Finn out-paced his title rival and current points leader Marco Simoncelli, who ended the session third.

The Gilera rider, who won the previous round at the Sachsenring, was on top for most of the session, until Barbera and Kallio's late efforts.

Alex Debon, a man who frequently shines when the weather doesn't, was fourth quickest on his Aprilia ahead of Kallio's teammate Hiroshi Aoyama and Mattia Pasini.

Eugene Laverty was an encouraging seventh fastest and currently lines up on the inside of row three alongside Julian Simon and Lukas Pasek.

Alvaro Bautista, whose championship challenge seems to unravel further with every round of the calendar, crashed out at Turn Five late on and ended up 10th.

Pos  Rider                Bike     Time
 1.  Hector Barbera       Aprilia  2:16.210
 2.  Mika Kallio          KTM      2:16.896  + 0.686
 3.  Marco Simoncelli     Gilera   2:17.306  + 1.096
 4.  Alex Debon           Aprilia  2:17.759  + 1.549
 5.  Hiroshi Aoyama       KTM      2:18.948  + 2.738
 6.  Mattia Pasini        Aprilia  2:19.086  + 2.876
 7.  Eugene Laverty       Aprilia  2:19.796  + 3.586
 8.  Julian Simon         KTM      2:19.988  + 3.778
 9.  Lukas Pesek          Aprilia  2:20.155  + 3.945
10.  Alvaro Bautista      Aprilia  2:20.270  + 4.060
11.  Yuki Takahashi       Honda    2:20.469  + 4.259
12.  Thomas Luthi         Aprilia  2:21.162  + 4.952
13.  Fabrizio Lai         Gilera   2:21.697  + 5.487
14.  Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha   2:22.563  + 6.353
15.  Toni Wirsing         Honda    2:22.804  + 6.594
16.  Alex Baldolini       Aprilia  2:23.106  + 6.896
17.  Karel Abraham        Aprilia  2:23.688  + 7.478
18.  Hector Faubel        Aprilia  2:26.173  + 9.963
19.  Ratthapark Wilairot  Honda    2:26.189  + 9.979
20.  Aleix Espargaro      Aprilia  2:26.200  + 9.990
21.  Roberto Locatelli    Gilera   2:26.739  + 10.529
22.  Federico Sandi       Aprilia  2:27.294  + 11.084
23.  Russel Gomez         Aprilia  2:29.688  + 13.478
24.  Manuel Poggiali      Gilera