Moto2: Debon wins provisional pole battle
Alex Debon won the battle for provisional pole in a frantic ending to the first qualifying session for the 250cc class at Motegi
The Spaniard, who had topped the times with just over 20 minutes remaining, took provisional pole with a 1:52.807 in the final minute before the chequered flag fell at the end of the session, having taken 0.35 seconds off the previous mark set by Yuki Takahashi.
Seconds later Hiroshi Aoyama moved into second with a 1:52.902, but despite being less than a tenth of a second slower than Debon, this would be only good enough for fourth, as after the chequered flag fell, Hector Barbera went faster than Aoyama, before Marco Simoncelli bumped both of them down with a time just 0.026 seconds slower than Debon.
Alvaro Bautista finished the session sixth fastest, just ahead of Yuki Takahashi who had been on pole with less than a minute remaining. Hector Faubel, Julian Simon, who had shown pace early in the session, Roberto Locatelli and Aleix Espargaro completed the top ten.
Mattia Pasini and title contender Mika Kallio sit just outside the top ten in eleventh and twelfth, over 1.2 seconds slower than provisional pole.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:52.807 2. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:52.833 + 0.026 3. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:52.861 + 0.054 4. Hiroshi Aoyama Ktm 1:52.902 + 0.095 5. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:53.125 + 0.318 6. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:53.157 + 0.350 7. Hector Faubel Aprilia 1:53.437 + 0.630 8. Julian Simon Ktm 1:53.574 + 0.767 9. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1:53.632 + 0.825 10. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:53.658 + 0.851 11. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1:54.016 + 1.209 12. Mika Kallio Ktm 1:54.043 + 1.236 13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1:54.526 + 1.719 14. Fabrizio Gilera 1:54.621 + 1.814 15. Ratthapark Honda 1:54.925 + 2.118 16. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1:54.999 + 2.192 17. Takumi Takahashi Honda 1:55.031 + 2.224 18. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:55.178 + 2.371 19. Simone Grotzkyj Gilera 1:55.512 + 2.705 20. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha 1:56.193 + 3.386 21. Manuel Hernandez Aprilia 1:56.554 + 3.747 22. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:56.590 + 3.783 23. Imre Toth Hun Aprilia 1:58.000 + 5.193 24. Kazuki Watanabe Yamaha 1:58.290 + 5.483 25. Yuuki Ito Yamaha 1:58.973 + 6.166 26. Daniel Arcas Aprilia 1:59.277 + 6.470 27. Takumi Endoh Yamaha 2:00.329 + 7.522
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