Moto2: Bradl takes another Moto2 pole
Stefan Bradl maintained his unbeaten run in 2011 Moto2 qualifying sessions with pole position for round three at Estoril
After a session-long battle with Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Suter) and Julian Simon (Aspar Suter), it was Kiefer Suter rider Bradl who emerged in front by 0.2 seconds with a lap in 1m41.591s, earning his third pole in as many events.
125cc champion Marc Marquez had been the early provisional polesitter and ultimately ended up fourth.
He shares row two with a pair of riders who crashed during the session in Dominique Aegerter and Michele Pirro.
Friday pacesetter Yuki Takahashi will start seventh. The ex-MotoGP rider is racing this weekend in tribute to his younger brother Koki, who was killed in a road accident in Japan last Sunday.
Championship leader Andrea Iannone was only 14th fastest for the Speed Master team.
The session saw a very large number of falls, with the most painful happening to Claudio Corti and Alex de Angelis, though despite their discomfort, both managed to rejoin by the end of the session.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Stefan Bradl Kiefer Kalex 1m41.591s 2. Thomas Luthi Interwetten Suter 1m41.754s + 0.163s 3. Julian Simon Aspar Suter 1m41.905s + 0.314s 4. Marc Marquez Catalunya Suter 1m42.073s + 0.482s 5. Dominique Aegerter Technomag-CIP Suter 1m42.143s + 0.552s 6. Michele Pirro Gresini Moriwaki 1m42.219s + 0.628s 7. Yuki Takahashi Gresini Moriwaki 1m42.259s + 0.668s 8. Kenan Sofuoglu Technomag-CIP Suter 1m42.307s + 0.716s 9. Jules Cluzel Forward Suter 1m42.400s + 0.809s 10. Pol Espargaro Speed Up FTR 1m42.456s + 0.865s 11. Aleix Espargaro Pons Kalex 1m42.493s + 0.902s 12. Alex Baldolini Forward Suter 1m42.546s + 0.955s 13. Scott Redding Marc VDS Suter 1m42.563s + 0.972s 14. Andrea Iannone Speed Master Suter 1m42.591s + 1.000s 15. Bradley Smith Tech 3 1m42.743s + 1.152s 16. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 1m42.746s + 1.155s 17. Simone Corsi Ioda FTR 1m42.844s + 1.253s 18. Raffaele De Rosa G22 Moriwaki 1m42.953s + 1.362s 19. Mattia Pasini Ioda FTR 1m42.996s + 1.405s 20. Ricard Cardus QMMF Moriwaki 1m43.080s + 1.489s 21. Xavier Simeon Tech 3 1m43.120s + 1.529s 22. Mika Kallio Marc VDS Suter 1m43.140s + 1.549s 23. Esteve Rabat Blusens-STX FTR 1m43.189s + 1.598s 24. Ratthapark Wilairot SAG FTR 1m43.286s + 1.695s 25. Randy Krummenacher Kiefer Kalex 1m43.346s + 1.755s 26. Mike di Meglio Tech 3 1m43.366s + 1.775s 27. Kenny Noyes STR FTR 1m43.399s + 1.808s 28. Alex de Angelis JIR Motobi 1m43.472s + 1.881s 29. Anthony West MZ 1m43.660s + 2.069s 30. Claudio Corti Italtrans Suter 1m43.674s + 2.083s 31. Javier Fores Aspar Suter 1m43.710s + 2.119s 32. Valentin Debise Speed Up FTR 1m44.010s + 2.419s 33. Yonny Hernandez Blusens-STX FTR 1m44.090s + 2.499s 34. Santiago Hernandez SAG FTR 1m44.355s + 2.764s 35. Robertino Pietri Italtrans Suter 1m44.835s + 3.244s 36. Mashel Al Naimi QMMF Moriwaki 1m45.100s + 3.509s 37. Kev Coghlan Castello FTR 1m45.380s + 3.789s 38. Steven Odendaal MS Suter 1m46.555s + 4.964s 39. Max Neukirchner MZ 40. Lukasz Wargala G22 Moriwaki
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