Brno Moto2: Pol Espargaro continues pole streak
Pol Espargaro captured his third consecutive Moto2 pole in a disrupted qualifying session at Brno
Oil on the circuit caused a spate of crashes and a lengthy red flag spell at the session's start, while spots of rain also led to much of the field retreating to their garages around the midway mark.
When the track did open it was Espargaro who immediately set the bar with a 2m01.989s.
That would ultimately prove enough to earn him pole position for the Czech Grand Prix, although the Pons Kalex rider made sure of his position by shaving a few hundredths off in the final minute.
Behind him Thomas Luthi (Paddock Suter), Scott Redding (Marc VDS Kalex) and championship leader Marc Marquez (Monlau Suter) staged a three-way fight for second.
It was Luthi who eventually claimed the middle of the front row, while Redding did enough to deny Marquez, who missed out on a top-three qualifying berth for only the second time this season.
Simone Corsi (Ioda FTR) finished half a second down on Marquez in fifth, while Andrea Iannone - one of the early crashers - recovered to seal sixth.
Elena Rossell and Gino Rea were also unseated in the early chaos. Alex de Angelis (Forward Suter) suffered a huge tank-slapper late on, which Redding did well to avoid, and then fell.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Pol Espargaro Pons Kalex 2m01.953s 2. Thomas Luthi Paddock Suter 2m02.235s + 0.282s 3. Scott Redding Marc VDS Kalex 2m02.239s + 0.286s 4. Marc Marquez Monlau Suter 2m02.342s + 0.389s 5. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR 2m02.838s + 0.885s 6. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Speed Up 2m02.914s + 0.961s 7. Takaaki Nakagami Italtrans Kalex 2m02.981s + 1.028s 8. Nicolas Terol Aspar Suter 2m03.128s + 1.175s 9. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter 2m03.130s + 1.177s 10. Johann Zarco JIR Motobi 2m03.142s + 1.189s 11. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 2m03.159s + 1.206s 12. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Kalex 2m03.206s + 1.253s 13. Jordi Torres Aspar Suter 2m03.249s + 1.296s 14. Mike di Meglio MZ 2m03.279s + 1.326s 15. Bradley Smith Tech 3 2m03.303s + 1.350s 16. Esteve Rabat Pons Kalex 2m03.307s + 1.354s 17. Julian Simon Avintia Suter 2m03.360s + 1.407s 18. Alex de Angelis Forward FTR 2m03.384s + 1.431s 19. Claudio Corti Italtrans Kalex 2m03.470s + 1.517s 20. Ratthapark Wilairot Gresini Suter 2m03.479s + 1.526s 21. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 2m03.594s + 1.641s 22. Yuki Takahashi Forward FTR 2m03.636s + 1.683s 23. Randy Krummenacher Switzerland Kalex 2m04.003s + 2.050s 24. Marcel Schrotter SAG Bimota 2m04.077s + 2.124s 25. Anthony West QMMF Speed Up 2m04.272s + 2.319s 26. Gino Rea Gresini Suter 2m04.399s + 2.446s 27. Roberto Rolfo Technomag-CIP Suter 2m04.630s + 2.677s 28. Alessandro Andreozzi Speed Master Speed Up 2m05.233s + 3.280s 29. Marco Colandrea SAG FTR 2m05.428s + 3.475s 30. Eric Granado JIR Motobi 2m06.417s + 4.464s 31. Elena Rosell QMMF Speed Up 2m07.425s + 5.472s 32. Max Neukirchner Kiefer Kalex 33. Ricard Cardus Arguinano AJR
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