Johann Zarco takes second 125cc pole of season at Misano
Johann Zarco took his second pole position of the season after a thrilling four-way qualifying fight for the 125cc San Marino Grand Prix at Misano
The Ajo Derbi rider had led much of the early running, but times tumbled in the final five minutes as the Aprilia trio of Nico Terol, Sandro Cortese and Hector Faubel all improved.
Zarco was the first rider to dip into the 1m43s bracket however, which looked good enough for pole until Aspar rider Terol displaced him at the top on his final tour.
Zarco was on his own flyer, and moments later was back on top with a 1m43.247s, enough to earn him provisional pole as the chequered flag fell.
Faubel (Aspar) and Cortese (Team Germany) were still out on circuit though, with the former ultimately proving the main competition - his final flyer was just over one tenth shy, but enough to secure second and displace championship leader Terol to third.
Cortese was not able to improve and will start from the front of the second row, which he shares with the Ajo Aprilia of Danny Kent and the Ellegi-run bike of impressive wildcard Miroslav Popov - the Czech teenager jumping up to sixth as the chequered flag fell.
Jonas Folger (Ajo), Luis Salom (RW) and Miguel Oliviera (Andalucia) rounded out the third row, with Aprilia teams claiming every spot from second to ninth.
Simone Grotzki missed the session and will sit out the race after breaking his hand in two places in a practice crash. It was a torrid way to mark his final weekend for Phonica Aprilia, with Grotzki set to lose his seat due to budget issues.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Johann Zarco Ajo Derbi 1m43.247s 2. Hector Faubel Aspar Aprilia 1m43.440s + 0.193s 3. Nicolas Terol Aspar Aprilia 1m43.604s + 0.357s 4. Sandro Cortese Germany Aprilia 1m43.605s + 0.358s 5. Danny Kent Ajo Aprilia 1m44.240s + 0.993s 6. Miroslav Popov Ellegi Aprilia 1m44.255s + 1.008s 7. Jonas Folger Ajo Aprilia 1m44.266s + 1.019s 8. Luis Salom RW Aprilia 1m44.275s + 1.028s 9. Miguel Oliveira Andalucia Aprilia 1m44.327s + 1.080s 10. Maverick Vinales Blusens Aprilia 1m44.351s + 1.104s 11. Efren Vazquez Ajo Derbi 1m44.617s + 1.370s 12. Alberto Moncayo Andalucia Aprilia 1m44.651s + 1.404s 13. Sergio Gadea Blusens Aprilia 1m44.740s + 1.493s 14. Luigi Morciano Italia FMI Aprilia 1m44.940s + 1.693s 15. Marcel Schrotter Mahindra 1m45.034s + 1.787s 16. Zulfahmi Khairuddin Ajo Derbi 1m45.102s + 1.855s 17. Jakub Kornfeil Ongetta Aprilia 1m45.169s + 1.922s 18. Adrian Martin Aspar Aprilia 1m45.193s + 1.946s 19. Danny Webb Mahindra 1m45.524s + 2.277s 20. Harry Stafford Ongetta Aprilia 1m45.527s + 2.280s 21. Jasper Iwema Ongetta Aprilia 1m45.639s + 2.392s 22. Alessandro Tonucci Italia FMI Aprilia 1m45.833s + 2.586s 23. Louis Rossi Matteoni Aprilia 1m45.840s + 2.593s 24. Massimo Parziani Faenza Aprilia 1m46.081s + 2.834s 25. Alessandro Giorgi VFT Aprilia 1m46.083s + 2.836s 26. Alexis Masbou Caretta KTM 1m46.256s + 3.009s 27. Manuel Tatasciore Phonica Aprilia 1m46.316s + 3.069s 28. Kevin Calia MGP Aprilia 1m46.345s + 3.098s 29. Sturla Fagerhaug WTR-Ten10 Aprilia 1m46.634s + 3.387s 30. Jack Miller Caretta KTM 1m47.031s + 3.784s 31. Francesco Mauriello WTR-Ten10 Aprilia 1m47.198s + 3.951s 32. Giulian Pedone Phonica Aprilia 1m47.625s + 4.378s 33. Joan Perello Matteoni Aprilia 1m48.376s + 5.129s 34. Taylor Mackenzie Phonica Aprilia 1m48.893s + 5.646s 35. Simone Grotzkyj Phonica Aprilia
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments