125cc: Espargaro scores maiden pole
Spaniard Pol Espargaro scored his maiden pole position in front of his own crowd at Barcelona, ahead of tomorrow's 125cc Grand Prix of Catalunya
The Derbi rider, who was already on provisional pole position yesterday, did not improve on that time until well after the half-way point of today's 30 minute session.
Espargaro's first quick lap wasn't enough to improve on the time set some ten minutes earlier by Derbi's Mike di Meglio, whose time of 1:50.696 was four tenths quicker than provisional pole.
But the next two laps on the same run were both quicker than the Frenchman's, putting him 0.139 ahead with a best time of 1:50.557. Espargaro tried to improve once more on the same run, but he ran into traffic and gesticulated in frustration.
That happened just moments before Briton Bradley Smith had a big crash with four minutes of the session left, forcing him to be stretchered out of the track.
While riding through the first corner, the Polaris World rider saved a high-side but ended up tumbling in the gravel and being run over by his own Aprilia, after the bike hit the tyre barrier.
It's as yet unknown whether Smith, who has scored three pole positions this year, will be able to start the race after the accident, despite today's qualifying effort being good enough for eighth position.
Smith's father, however, told journalists that the rider didn't suffer any serious injuries.
Joining Espargaro and di Meglio on the front row are the Aprilias of Nicolas Terol and Scott Redding, whose times were the only others better than yesterday's provisional pole.
Leading Smith on the second row are the other Aprilias of Simone Corsi, Sergio Gadea, and Gabor Talmacsi, with the latter being the only top runner unable to improve on the time he set on Friday.
Not taking part in qualifying was Esteve Rabat, who lost his senses in hospital after yesterday's crash and was kept in induced coma. The Spaniard woke up from the coma this morning in the hospital and is reportedly in a good condition.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Pol Espargaro Derbi 1:50.557 2. Mike Di Meglio Derbi 1:50.696 + 0.139 3. Nicolas Terol Aprilia 1:50.740 + 0.183 4. Scott Redding Aprilia 1:51.101 + 0.544 5. Simone Corsi Aprilia 1:51.365 + 0.808 6. Sergio Gadea Aprilia 1:51.399 + 0.842 7. Gabor Talmacsi Aprilia 1:51.436 + 0.879 8. Bradley Smith Aprilia 1:51.439 + 0.882 9. Andrea Iannone Aprilia 1:51.500 + 0.943 10. Joan Olive Derbi 1:51.518 + 0.961 11. Sandro Cortese Aprilia 1:51.564 + 1.007 12. Raffaele De Rosa KTM 1:51.566 + 1.009 13. Stefan Bradl Aprilia 1:51.593 + 1.036 14. Marc Marquez KTM 1:51.650 + 1.093 15. Efren Vazquez Aprilia 1:51.780 + 1.223 16. Steve Bonsey Aprilia 1:51.932 + 1.375 17. D.Agerter Derbi 1:51.976 + 1.419 18. R.Krummenacher KTM 1:52.074 + 1.517 19. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia 1:52.076 + 1.519 20. Pablo Nieto KTM 1:52.080 + 1.523 21. Daniel Webb Aprilia 1:52.161 + 1.604 22. Tomoyoshi Koyama KTM 1:52.250 + 1.693 23. Alexis Masbou Loncin 1:52.428 + 1.871 24. Lorenzo Zanetti KTM 1:52.428 + 1.871 25. Robin Lasser Aprilia 1:52.474 + 1.917 26. Stefano Bianco Aprilia 1:52.593 + 2.036 27. Michael Ranseder Aprilia 1:52.769 + 2.212 28. Pere Tutusaus Aprilia 1:52.806 + 2.249 29. Jules Cluzel Loncin 1:53.345 + 2.788 30. Axel Pons Aprilia 1:53.532 + 2.975 31. H.van den Berg Aprilia 1:53.560 + 3.003 32. Robert Muresan Aprilia 1:53.607 + 3.050 33. Ricard Cardus Derbi 1:53.698 + 3.141 34. R.Lacalendola Aprilia 1:54.090 + 3.533 35. Louis Rossi Honda 1:54.190 + 3.633 36. Jordi Dalmau Honda 1:54.944 + 4.387 37. Daniel Saez Aprilia 1:55.022 + 4.465 38. Ivan Maestro Aprilia 1:55.681 + 5.124
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