Saturday, July 12, 2008

Simoncelli grabs provisional pole

Title protagonist Marco Simoncelli took a stunning provisional pole position for the German Grand Prix in the dying moments of the first qualifying session at the Sachsenring.

In a three-way battle, the Italian Gilera rider, who had swapped the top position with Hector Barbera for much of the session, just snatched pole from the Spaniard on his last lap. Simoncelli:s lap of 1:23.953 was just 0.18sec ahead of the Team Toth Aprilia rider.

The other man in with a shout in the final moments was Mika Kallio, who currently leads the championship by one point from Simoncelli.

The KTM rider's best attempt, also on his last lap, was 0.64secs slower than pole, however and the Finn was forced to settle for third, ahead of his teammate Hiroshi Aoyama.

The surprise of the session came from Italian rider Fabrizio Lai, who qualified fifth on his Campetella Racing Gilera.

Hector Faubel was sixth ahead of Julian Simon on the Repsol KTM. Yuki Takahashi, Aleix Espargaro and Alex Debon completed the top ten.

Mattia Pasini, who won the opening round of the championship in Qatar, was the only significant faller in the session. The Italian ended the session 15th after dropping his Polaris World Aprilia on the exit of the Omega Curve.

Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Marco Simoncelli Gilera 1:23.953 2. Hector Barbera Aprilia 1:24.134 +0.181 3. Mika Kallio KTM 1:24.590 +0.637 4. Hiroshi Aoyama KTM 1:24.679 +0.726 5. Fabrizio Lai Gilera 1:24.703 +0.750 6. Hector Faubel Aprilia 1:24.709 +0.756 7. Julian Simon KTM 1:24.747 +0.794 8. Yuki Takahashi Honda 1:24.785 +0.832 9. Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1:24.802 +0.849 10. Alex Debon Aprilia 1:24.975 +1.022 11. Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:25.007 +1.054 12. Thomas Luthi Aprilia 1:25.215 +1.262 13. Lukas Pesek Aprilia 1:25.260 +1.307 14. Roberto Locatelli Gilera 1:25.407 +1.454 15. Mattia Pasini Aprilia 1:25.783 +1.830 16. Eugene Laverty Aprilia 1:25.840 +1.887 17. Karel Abraham Aprilia 1:25.855 +1.902 18. Manuel Poggiali Gilera 1:25.889 +1.936 19. Ratthapark Wilairot Honda 1:25.926 +1.973 20. Alex Baldolini Aprilia 1:26.197 +2.244 21. Federico Sandi Aprilia 1:26.736 +2.783 22. Russell Gomez Aprilia 1:27.745 +3.792 23. Doni Tata Pradita Yamaha 1:27.817 +3.864 24. Imre Toth Aprilia 1:28.038 +4.085 25. Toni Wirsing Honda 1:29.080 +5.127 26. Alen Gyorfi Honda 1:30.458 +6.505 27. Chow Ho Wan Aprilia 1:31.757 +7.804

  • Hartley takes Snetterton pole
  • Simoncelli snatches win from Bautista
  • Bautista takes home pole in Spain
  • Chilton takes wet pole at Rockingham
  • Bautista secures provisional pole
  • Chinosi grabs pole on guest outing
  • No comments: