Moto2: Iannone takes pole, Debon injured
Andrea Iannone confirmed his dominant free practice form by taking pole position for the Moto2 Dutch TT at Assen, but the Italian's task was made easier after Alex Debon suffered an unfortunate accident early in the session
Having just set the fastest time at the beginning of qualifying, Debon was forced to run wide through the quick Ramshoek corner and found himself running over grass and kerbing on the exit. This meant that he was unable to engage the brakes enough to avoid hitting what appeared to be a slow-moving Ratthapark Wilairot. The ensuing impact was enough to break Debon's right collarbone.
Such was the Spaniard's early pace on the FTR that his fastest lap time wasn't bettered by Iannone for half the session. And then only after a second big shunt caused a red flag when Gabor Talsmacsi crashed out unhurt, but with his Speed Up bike lying prone on the racing line.
Axel Pons also suffered a big accident later in the session, lying in agony on-track for several minutes before being taken to the medical centre.
In the end Iannone improved his time in the final moments to secure pole with a 1m39.092s ahead of Wilairot, whose eventful session ended with him securing his first front-row start.
Debon was classified third, but is not expected to start, while Shoya Tomizawa was fourth fastest, recovering well from his own shunt in the morning's practice session.
Thomas Luthi was the fastest Moriwaki rider in fifth, just ahead of the similarly equipped championship leader Toni Elias. Julian Simon was seventh, Fonzi Nieto eighth and Claudio Corti ninth. His team-mate and Silverstone winner Jules Cluzel completed the top ten.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Andrea Iannone Speed Up 1m39.092s 2. Ratthapark Wilairot Bimota 1m39.307s + 0.215s 3. Alex Debon FTR 1m39.584s + 0.492s 4. Shoya Tomizawa Suter 1m39.664s + 0.572s 5. Thomas Luthi Moriwaki 1m39.671s + 0.579s 6. Toni Elias Moriwaki 1m39.711s + 0.619s 7. Julian Simon Suter 1m39.755s + 0.663s 8. Fonsi Nieto Moriwaki 1m39.777s + 0.685s 9. Claudio Corti Suter 1m39.798s + 0.706s 10. Jules Cluzel Suter 1m39.829s + 0.737s 11. Lukas Pesek Moriwaki 1m39.856s + 0.764s 12. Karel Abraham FTR 1m39.990s + 0.898s 13. Yuki Takahashi Tech 3 1m40.025s + 0.933s 14. Roberto Rolfo Suter 1m40.043s + 0.951s 15. Mattia Pasini Motobi 1m40.085s + 0.993s 16. Stefan Bradl Suter 1m40.225s + 1.133s 17. Mike di Meglio Suter 1m40.232s + 1.140s 18. Anthony West MZ 1m40.246s + 1.154s 19. Simone Corsi Motobi 1m40.262s + 1.170s 20. Scott Redding Suter 1m40.313s + 1.221s 21. Arne Tode Suter 1m40.413s + 1.321s 22. Yonni Hernandez BQR 1m40.427s + 1.335s 23. Gabor Talmacsi Speed Up 1m40.475s + 1.383s 24. Valentin Debise ADV 1m40.578s + 1.486s 25. Sergio Gadea Pons Kalex 1m40.659s + 1.567s 26. Alex de Angelis Scot 1m40.660s + 1.568s 27. Raffaele de Rosa Tech 3 1m40.676s + 1.584s 28. Alex Baldolini ICP 1m40.708s + 1.616s 29. Vladimir Ivanov Moriwaki 1m40.716s + 1.624s 30. Xavier Simeon Moriwaki 1m40.762s + 1.670s 31. Niccolo Canepa Scot 1m40.888s + 1.796s 32. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 1m40.968s + 1.876s 33. Dominique Agerter Suter 1m41.006s + 1.914s 34. Kenny Noyes Promo Harris 1m41.218s + 2.126s 35. Hector Faubel Suter 1m41.316s + 2.224s 36. Robertino Pietri Suter 1m41.368s + 2.276s 37. Joan Olive Promo Harris 1m41.953s + 2.861s 38. Vladimir Leonov Suter 1m41.967s + 2.875s 39. Bernat Martinez Bimota 1m42.643s + 3.551s 40. Mashel Al Naimi BQR 1m43.072s + 3.980s
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