125cc: Terol takes third pole of season
Nicolas Terol took his third pole position of the season in the 125cc class in qualifying for the French Grand Prix at Le Mans
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who leads the world championship with 75 points having proved unbeatable in the first three races of the year, put his Aspar Aprilia on pole around halfway through the session.
But he then improved his time to 1m43.834s with two minutes to go, just to ensure team-mate Hector Faubel would not deny him the top spot. Not satisfied with that apparently, his last lap of the session allowed him to close within a 100th of the qualifying record with a 1m43.578s.
Faubel ended up more than .389s behind Terol, while Maverick Vinales took his best grid slot of the season in third place - having been in a factor throughout the session.
Sandro Cortese denied himself the opportunity of a chance at the front row when he crashed late in the session ensuring that the German will start lower than third for the first time this year.
Behind Cortese was his countryman Jonas Folger while Frenchman Johann Zarco was sixth and fastest of the home riders on his Avant AirAsia Ajo bike.
Adrian Martin was seventh on the third Aspar Aprilia, while Sergio Gadea, Efren Vazquez and Luis Salom completed the top ten.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Nicolas Terol Aspar Aprilia 1m43.578s 2. Hector Faubel Aspar Aprilia 1m43.967s + 0.389s 3. Maverick Vinales Blusens Aprilia 1m44.315s + 0.737s 4. Sandro Cortese Germany Aprilia 1m44.355s + 0.777s 5. Jonas Folger Ajo Aprilia 1m44.497s + 0.919s 6. Johann Zarco Ajo Derbi 1m44.592s + 1.014s 7. Adrian Martin Aspar Aprilia 1m44.726s + 1.148s 8. Sergio Gadea Blusens Aprilia 1m44.755s + 1.177s 9. Efren Vazquez Ajo Derbi 1m44.776s + 1.198s 10. Luis Salom RW Aprilia 1m45.347s + 1.769s 11. Simone Grotzkyj Phonica Aprilia 1m45.423s + 1.845s 12. Miguel Oliveira Andalucia Aprilia 1m45.593s + 2.015s 13. Zulfahmi Khairuddin Ajo Derbi 1m45.629s + 2.051s 14. Jakub Kornfeil Ongetta Aprilia 1m45.682s + 2.104s 15. Alberto Moncayo Andalucia Aprilia 1m45.697s + 2.119s 16. Jasper Iwema Ongetta Aprilia 1m45.720s + 2.142s 17. Louis Rossi Matteoni Aprilia 1m45.746s + 2.168s 18. Danny Kent Ajo Aprilia 1m45.965s + 2.387s 19. Alexis Masbou WTR-Ten10 Aprilia 1m46.230s + 2.652s 20. Danny Webb Mahindra 1m46.381s + 2.803s 21. Luigi Morciano Italia Aprilia 1m46.473s + 2.895s 22. Harry Stafford Ongetta Aprilia 1m46.477s + 2.899s 23. Hiroki Ono Caretta KTM 1m46.531s + 2.953s 24. Marcel Schrotter Mahindra 1m47.364s + 3.786s 25. Francesco Mauriello WTR-Ten10 Aprilia 1m47.533s + 3.955s 26. Taylor Mackenzie Phonica Aprilia 1m47.540s + 3.962s 27. Niklas Ajo TT Motion Aprilia 1m47.563s + 3.985s 28. Giulian Pedone Phonica Aprilia 1m48.027s + 4.449s 29. Peter Sebestyen Caretta KTM 1m48.127s + 4.549s 30. Kevin Szalai Maxiscoot Aprilia 1m48.607s + 5.029s 31 Alessandro Tonucci Italia Aprilia 1m48.825s + 5.247s 32. Joan Perello Matteoni Aprilia 1m48.987s + 5.409s 33. Kevin Thobois RMS Honda 1m50.591s + 7.013s
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