Moto2: Noyes grabs Le Mans Moto2 pole
Kenny Noyes came out on top in a hard-fought qualifying session for the third round of the new Moto2 championship at Le Mans
The American battled with Yuki Takahashi and Alex Debon throughout the session, with Debon repeatedly holding provisional pole before being pushed back by his rivals.
In the end Noyes' late lap of 1m39.234s was enough to get him 0.031 seconds ahead of former MotoGP rider Takahashi, who still got Tech 3 onto the front row for its home race.
Debon held off Jules Cluzel - the best of the French contingent - to secure third, with Cluzel fourth ahead of Fonsi Nieto and Sergio Gadea.
It was a tough session for the two men who have shared the Moto2 poles and wins so far this season. Jerez victor Toni Elias crashed at the final corner before he could set a time, and had to remonstrate with the marshals before being permitted to get his bike back to the pits.
He eventually rejoined and got up to fourth for a while, but could not maintain that position and fell to seventh.
But championship leader Shoya Tomizawa fared even worse, as even with major mid-session set-up changes he was unable to get above 15th place.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Kenny Noyes Promo Harris 1m39.234s 2. Yuki Takahashi Tech 3 1m39.265s + 0.031s 3. Alex Debon FTR 1m39.320s + 0.086s 4. Jules Cluzel Suter 1m39.334s + 0.100s 5. Fonsi Nieto Moriwaki 1m39.402s + 0.168s 6. Sergio Gadea Pons Kalex 1m39.501s + 0.267s 7. Toni Elias Moriwaki 1m39.517s + 0.283s 8. Simone Corsi Motobi 1m39.598s + 0.364s 9. Julian Simon Suter 1m39.622s + 0.388s 10. Roberto Rolfo Suter 1m39.695s + 0.461s 11. Xavier Simeon Moriwaki 1m39.761s + 0.527s 12. Ratthapark Wilairot Bimota 1m39.783s + 0.549s 13. Claudio Corti Suter 1m39.787s + 0.553s 14. Andrea Iannone Speed Up 1m39.787s + 0.553s 15. Shoya Tomizawa Suter 1m39.795s + 0.561s 16. Alex de Angelis Scot 1m39.878s + 0.644s 17. Thomas Luthi Moriwaki 1m39.900s + 0.666s 18. Niccolo Canepa Scot 1m39.920s + 0.686s 19. Gabor Talmacsi Speed Up 1m39.973s + 0.739s 20. Raffaele de Rosa Tech 3 1m40.064s + 0.830s 21. Scott Redding Suter 1m40.087s + 0.853s 22. Lukas Pesek Moriwaki 1m40.093s + 0.859s 23. Axel Pons Pons Kalex 1m40.163s + 0.929s 24. Yonni Hernandez BQR 1m40.184s + 0.950s 25. Karel Abraham FTR 1m40.185s + 0.951s 26. Arne Tode Suter 1m40.200s + 0.966s 27. Hector Faubel Suter 1m40.203s + 0.969s 28. Alex Baldolini ICP 1m40.262s + 1.028s 29. Mike di Meglio Suter 1m40.315s + 1.081s 30. Dominique Agerter Suter 1m40.461s + 1.227s 31. Mattia Pasini Motobi 1m40.585s + 1.351s 32. Anthony West MZ 1m40.632s + 1.398s 33. Robertino Pietri Suter 1m40.666s + 1.432s 34. Vladimir Ivanov Moriwaki 1m40.746s + 1.512s 35. Stefan Bradl Suter 1m40.753s + 1.519s 36. Bernat Martinez Bimota 1m41.509s + 2.275s 37. Joan Olive Promo Harris 1m41.532s + 2.298s 38. Valentin Debise ADV 1m41.649s + 2.415s 39. Mashel Al Naimi BQR 1m41.789s + 2.555s 40. Yannick Guerra Moriwaki 1m41.972s + 2.738s 41. Vladimir Leonov Suter 1m42.118s + 2.884s
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