Moto2: Simoncelli takes Sachsenring pole
Marco Simoncelli took a strong pole position at a wet but drying Sachsenring, ahead of tomorrow's 250cc Grand Prix
The Metis Gilera rider dominated the 45-minute session and looked set to take pole by well over one second over the rest of the field thanks to a 1m32.962s lap, but a late charge by Hector Barbera (Pepe Aprilia) in the dying seconds saw the Spaniard shoot up to second, just 0.143 behind the Italian.
Aspar Aprilia's Alvaro Bautista ended the session third quickest, over 1.2 seconds behind pole, with Hiroshi Aoyama completing the front row with his Scot Honda.
Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Aprilia) was fifth, followed by Mattia Pasini who crashed his Team Toth Aprilia twice in the session. Alex Debon (Blusens Aprilia) and Hector Faubel round up the second row.
Balatonring Team Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and Aspar Aprilia's Mike di Meglio complete the top ten.
The latter, along with Faubel and Raffaele de Rosa, were other notable crashers of this session.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1m32.962s 2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1m33.105s + 0.143s 3. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1m34.246s + 1.284s 4. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m34.285s + 1.323s 5. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1m34.312s + 1.350s 6. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1m34.333s + 1.371s 7. Alex Debon Aprilia 1m34.632s + 1.670s 8. Hector Faubel Honda 1m34.660s + 1.698s 9. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1m34.718s + 1.756s 10. Mike di Meglio Aprilia 1m34.804s + 1.842s 11. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1m35.019s + 2.057s 12. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1m35.355s + 2.393s 13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1m35.427s + 2.465s 14. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1m35.637s + 2.675s 15. Jules Cluzel Aprilia 1m35.889s + 2.927s 16. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1m36.078s + 3.116s 17. Raffaele de Rosa Honda 1m36.097s + 3.135s 18. Shoya Tomizawa Honda 1m36.387s + 3.425s 19. Imre Toth Aprilia 1m36.767s + 3.805s 20. Vladimir Leonov Aprilia 1m36.880s + 3.918s 21. Valentin Debise Honda 1m37.633s + 4.671s 22. Toby Markham Aprilia 1m37.939s + 4.977s 23. Bastien Chesaux Honda 1m39.234s + 6.272s 24. Axel Pons Aprilia 1m40.422s + 7.460s 25. Joakim Stensmo Honda 1m42.138s + 9.176s 26. Robin Halen Aprilia 1m41.581s + 8.619s 27. Marcel Becker Yamaha 1m46.868s + 13.906s
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