MotoGP
Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi topped a frantic qualifying session to take pole position for Sunday’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.
The final ten minutes of Saturday’s hour-long session saw the top spot on the timesheet change hands a number of times as the MotoGP riders pushed hard under the searing Le Mans sunshine.
The Italian snatched top spot in a time of 1’33.408, quicker than the existing race lap record, and with it took his first pole position of the 2010 season, and his first at the French circuit since 2005.
Jorge Lorenzo made it a Fiat Yamaha one-two in the session as he went round just 0.054s off Rossi’s pace, having consistently lapped amongst the fastest times, whilst Dani Pedrosa completed the front row of the starting grid with a fine effort late on as well.
Casey Stoner had been one of those competing for pole throughout the session but the Ducati Marlboro man had to settle for the first slot on the second row, unable to make the most of the soft option tyre. The Australian’s team-mate Nicky Hayden was just two-hundredths behind, and joined him as the final rider under the 1’34" mark as he registered the fifth best time.
LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet will start his home GP from the second row as well after an impressive session placed him sixth.
Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso pushed himself to the front of row three with his final lap, whilst Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi were eighth and ninth fastest respectively.
Completing the top ten times of the session was Aleix Espargaró, who despite running off at turn seven, did well to stay on his Pramac Ducati and went on to set his best time with his last lap of the session and seal his best ever MotoGP qualification.
Ben Spies and Mika Kallio were both back on track after their crashes in free practice earlier in the day, and set the 12th and 16th fastest times respectively in qualifying.
Meanwhile Alvaro Bautista sat out qualifying and ruled himself out of tomorrow’s race after a huge high-side this morning aggravated his existing shoulder injuries.
Le Mans, Saturday, May 22, 2010
Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI |
ITA | Fiat Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 290.6 | 1’33.408 | Â |
2 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO |
SPA | Fiat Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 283.5 | 1’33.462 | 0.054 / 0.054 |
3 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA |
SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 279.3 | 1’33.573 | 0.165 / 0.111 |
4 | 27 | Casey STONER |
AUS | Ducati Marlboro Team | Ducati | 288.8 | 1’33.824 | 0.416 / 0.251 |
5 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN |
USA | Ducati Marlboro Team | Ducati | 284.1 | 1’33.845 | 0.437 / 0.021 |
6 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET |
FRA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 290.0 | 1’34.074 | 0.666 / 0.229 |
7 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO |
ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 280.1 | 1’34.204 | 0.796 / 0.130 |
8 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS |
USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 276.6 | 1’34.304 | 0.896 / 0.100 |
9 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI |
ITA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 281.5 | 1’34.306 | 0.898 / 0.002 |
10 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO |
SPA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 281.2 | 1’34.514 | 1.106 / 0.208 |
11 | 33 | Marco MELANDRI |
ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 286.2 | 1’34.523 | 1.115 / 0.009 |
12 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 |
Yamaha | 287.5 | 1’34.920 | 1.512 / 0.397 |
13 | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI |
ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 279.3 | 1’34.942 | 1.534 / 0.022 |
14 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA |
JPN | Interwetten Honda MotoGP | Honda | 285.8 | 1’34.979 | 1.571 / 0.037 |
15 | 40 | Hector BARBERA |
SPA | Paginas Amarillas Aspar | Ducati | 278.0 | 1’35.323 | 1.915 / 0.344 |
16 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Pramac Racing Team |
Ducati | 278.5 | 1’35.810 | 2.402 / 0.487 |
 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA |
SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki |
Moto2
Kenny Noyes rode a storming Moto2 qualifying session to take pole position for Sunday’s race, posting a best lap of 1’39.234 to place his Promoharris machine team at the head of the grid. Noyes is the first American to take pole in the intermediate GP class since John Kocinski at the Australian 250cc GP in 1990.
As was the case in the earlier practice session there was little separating a large number of riders, with the top 27 all within a second of one another. Second fastest, at just 0.031s behind Noyes, was Yuki Takahashi who will ensure that his Tech3 team start their home race from an encouraging spot. Alex Debón joins them on the front row, as will Frenchman Jules Cluzel.
Fonsi Nieto and Sergio Gadea maintained their consistency from practice to take the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively, whilst Toni ElÃas recovered from an early crash to record the seventh quickest lap. Simone Corsi will complete the second row.
Le Mans, Saturday, May 22, 2010
Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas |
Promoharris | 247.4 | 1’39.234 | Â |
2 | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI |
JPN | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 250.5 | 1’39.265 | 0.031 / 0.031 |
3 | 6 | Alex DEBON | SPA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo |
FTR | 249.9 | 1’39.320 | 0.086 / 0.055 |
4 | 16 | Jules CLUZEL |
FRA | Forward Racing | Suter | 251.7 | 1’39.334 | 0.100 / 0.014 |
5 | 10 | Fonsi NIETO | SPA | Holiday Gym G22 |
Moriwaki | 248.5 | 1’39.402 | 0.168 / 0.068 |
6 | 40 | Sergio GADEA |
SPA | Tenerife 40 Pons | Pons Kalex | 255.1 | 1’39.501 | 0.267 / 0.099 |
7 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Gresini Racing Moto2 |
Moriwaki | 249.4 | 1’39.517 | 0.283 / 0.016 |
8 | 3 | Simone CORSI |
ITA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 252.5 | 1’39.598 | 0.364 / 0.081 |
9 | 60 | Julian SIMON |
SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 254.1 | 1’39.622 | 0.388 / 0.024 |
10 | 44 | Roberto ROLFO |
ITA | Italtrans S.T.R. | Suter | 250.0 | 1’39.695 | 0.461 / 0.073 |
11 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON |
BEL | Holiday Gym Racing | Moriwaki | 248.0 | 1’39.761 | 0.527 / 0.066 |
12 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT |
THA | Thai Honda PTT Singha SAG | Bimota | 249.0 | 1’39.783 | 0.549 / 0.022 |
13 | 71 | Claudio CORTI |
ITA | Forward Racing | Suter | 247.7 | 1’39.787 | 0.553 / 0.004 |
14 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE |
ITA | Fimmco Speed Up | Speed Up | 259.6 | 1’39.787 | 0.553 |
15 | 48 | Shoya TOMIZAWA |
JPN | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 254.6 | 1’39.795 | 0.561 / 0.008 |
16 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS |
RSM | RSM Team Scot | Force GP210 | 247.0 | 1’39.878 | 0.644 / 0.083 |
17 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI |
SWI | Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 | Moriwaki | 250.6 | 1’39.900 | 0.666 / 0.022 |
18 | 59 | Niccolo CANEPA |
ITA | RSM Team Scot | Force GP210 | 249.5 | 1’39.920 | 0.686 / 0.020 |
19 | 2 | Gabor TALMACSI |
HUN | Fimmco Speed Up | Speed Up | 252.9 | 1’39.973 | 0.739 / 0.053 |
20 | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA |
ITA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 250.6 | 1’40.064 | 0.830 / 0.091 |
21 | 45 | Scott REDDING |
GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 248.3 | 1’40.087 | 0.853 / 0.023 |
22 | 52 | Lukas PESEK | CZE | Matteoni CP Racing |
Moriwaki | 255.0 | 1’40.093 | 0.859 / 0.006 |
23 | 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Tenerife 40 Pons |
Pons Kalex | 250.3 | 1’40.163 | 0.929 / 0.070 |
24 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ |
COL | Blusens-STX | BQR-Moto2 | 251.5 | 1’40.184 | 0.950 / 0.021 |
25 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM |
CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | FTR | 250.0 | 1’40.185 | 0.951 / 0.001 |
26 | 41 | Arne TODE | GER | Racing Team Germany |
Suter | 251.3 | 1’40.200 | 0.966 / 0.015 |
27 | 55 | Hector FAUBEL |
SPA | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 251.7 | 1’40.203 | 0.969 / 0.003 |
28 | 25 | Alex BALDOLINI |
ITA | Caretta Technology Race Dept | I.C.P. | 252.2 | 1’40.262 | 1.028 / 0.059 |
29 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO |
FRA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 255.1 | 1’40.315 | 1.081 / 0.053 |
30 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER |
SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 254.1 | 1’40.461 | 1.227 / 0.146 |
31 | 75 | Mattia PASINI |
ITA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 257.3 | 1’40.585 | 1.351 / 0.124 |
32 | 8 | Anthony WEST |
AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 246.9 | 1’40.632 | 1.398 / 0.047 |
33 | 39 | Robertino PIETRI |
VEN | Italtrans S.T.R. | Suter | 251.7 | 1’40.666 | 1.432 / 0.034 |
34 | 61 | Vladimir IVANOV |
UKR | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 248.8 | 1’40.746 | 1.512 / 0.080 |
35 | 65 | Stefan BRADL |
GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Suter | 248.4 | 1’40.753 | 1.519 / 0.007 |
36 | 76 | Bernat MARTINEZ |
SPA | Maquinza-SAG Team | Bimota | 245.4 | 1’41.509 | 2.275 / 0.756 |
37 | 5 | Joan OLIVE | SPA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas |
Promoharris | 250.2 | 1’41.532 | 2.298 / 0.023 |
38 | 53 | Valentin DEBISE |
FRA | WTR San Marino Team | ADV | 250.8 | 1’41.649 | 2.415 / 0.117 |
39 | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI |
QAT | Blusens-STX | BQR-Moto2 | 253.4 | 1’41.789 | 2.555 / 0.140 |
40 | 88 | Yannick GUERRA |
SPA | Holiday Gym G22 | Moriwaki | 246.9 | 1’41.972 | 2.738 / 0.183 |
41 | 21 | Vladimir LEONOV |
RUS | Vector Kiefer Racing | Suter | 249.0 | 1’42.118 | 2.884 / 0.14 |
125cc GP
125cc World Championship leader Nico Terol will start the race at Le Mans from pole position, after he topped qualifying session with a best lap of 1’43.719.
The Bancaja Aspar rider currently holds a seven-point advantage over Pol Espargaró in the championship standings, and the Tuenti Racing rider was second quickest in the session just 0.145s behind.
German youngster Sandro Cortese ensured that the front row will have a non-Spanish rider on it for the first time this season, and Marc Márquez will make it three Derbi machines out of four.
Bradley Smith looks to have rediscovered his pace on his Aprilia after a seizure on Friday, and will start from the front of the second row.
The Brit set his best time of the session on his 19th and final lap, before suffering a small fall right at the end. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Randy Krummenacher and Danny Webb all set top-eight times as well to give themselves promising starting positions for Sunday.
Le Mans, Saturday, May 22, 2010
Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 40 | Nicolas TEROL |
SPA | Bancaja Aspar Team | Aprilia | 214.8 | 1’43.719 | Â |
2 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO |
SPA | Tuenti Racing | Derbi | 209.7 | 1’43.864 | 0.145 / 0.145 |
3 | 11 | Sandro CORTESE |
GER | Avant Mitsubishi Ajo | Derbi | 212.2 | 1’44.118 | 0.399 / 0.254 |
4 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ |
SPA | Red Bull Ajo Motorsport | Derbi | 213.8 | 1’44.141 | 0.422 / 0.023 |
5 | 38 | Bradley SMITH |
GBR | Bancaja Aspar Team | Aprilia | 212.7 | 1’44.172 | 0.453 / 0.031 |
6 | 71 | Tomoyoshi KOYAMA |
JPN | Racing Team Germany | Aprilia | 213.6 | 1’44.358 | 0.639 / 0.186 |
7 | 35 | Randy KRUMMENACHER |
SWI | Stipa-Molenaar Racing GP | Aprilia | 212.0 | 1’44.580 | 0.861 / 0.222 |
8 | 99 | Danny WEBB | GBR | Andalucia Cajasol |
Aprilia | 215.4 | 1’44.807 | 1.088 / 0.227 |
9 | 14 | Johann ZARCO |
FRA | WTR San Marino Team | Aprilia | 214.5 | 1’44.909 | 1.190 / 0.102 |
10 | 12 | Esteve RABAT |
SPA | Blusens-STX | Aprilia | 211.8 | 1’44.920 | 1.201 / 0.011 |
11 | 39 | Luis SALOM | SPA | Stipa-Molenaar Racing GP |
Aprilia | 212.5 | 1’45.021 | 1.302 / 0.101 |
12 | 7 | Efren VAZQUEZ |
SPA | Tuenti Racing | Derbi | 212.9 | 1’45.306 | 1.587 / 0.285 |
13 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER |
GER | Ongetta Team | Aprilia | 213.1 | 1’45.618 | 1.899 / 0.312 |
14 | 51 | Riccardo MORETTI |
ITA | Fontana Racing | Aprilia | 210.7 | 1’45.657 | 1.938 / 0.039 |
15 | 53 | Jasper IWEMA |
NED | CBC Corse | Aprilia | 214.8 | 1’45.754 | 2.035 / 0.097 |
16 | 26 | Adrian MARTIN |
SPA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo | Aprilia | 209.9 | 1’45.851 | 2.132 / 0.097 |
17 | 23 | Alberto MONCAYO |
SPA | Andalucia Cajasol | Aprilia | 208.9 | 1’45.955 | 2.236 / 0.104 |
18 | 5 | Alexis MASBOU |
FRA | Ongetta Team | Aprilia | 208.7 | 1’46.035 | 2.316 / 0.080 |
19 | 32 | Lorenzo SAVADORI |
ITA | Matteoni CP Racing | Aprilia | 204.1 | 1’46.372 | 2.653 / 0.337 |
20 | 78 | Marcel SCHROTTER |
GER | Interwetten Honda 125 | Honda | 209.2 | 1’46.772 | 3.053 / 0.400 |
21 | 50 | Sturla FAGERHAUG |
NOR | AirAsia – Sepang Int. Circuit | Aprilia | 204.0 | 1’46.777 | 3.058 / 0.005 |
22 | 69 | Louis ROSSI | FRA | CBC Corse |
Aprilia | 206.6 | 1’46.782 | 3.063 / 0.005 |
23 | 84 | Jakub KORNFEIL |
CZE | Racing Team Germany | Aprilia | 207.9 | 1’46.867 | 3.148 / 0.085 |
24 | 63 | Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN |
MAL | AirAsia – Sepang Int. Circuit | Aprilia | 204.9 | 1’47.643 | 3.924 / 0.776 |
25 | 60 | Michael VAN DER MARK |
NED | Lambretta Reparto Corse | Lambretta | 198.1 | 1’48.271 | 4.552 / 0.628 |
26 | 83 | Morgan BERCHET |
FRA | Xtreme Racing Team | Honda | 199.7 | 1’48.812 | 5.093 / 0.541 |
27 | 81 | Gregory DI CARLO |
FRA | Equipe de France Vitesse Espoir | Honda | 203.6 | 1’48.868 | 5.149 / 0.056 |
28 | 82 | Kevin SZALAI |
FRA | Equipe de France Vitesse Espoir | Honda | 199.2 | 1’48.924 | 5.205 / 0.056 |
29 | 72 | Marco RAVAIOLI |
ITA | Lambretta Reparto Corse | Lambretta | 204.1 | 1’49.023 | 5.304 / 0.09 |