Assen 125cc MotoGP: Qualifying Results

125cc MotoGP

Paris Hilton Racing Team’s Maverick Vinales set a time one second faster than his FP2 time of 1’44.597, putting him on pole for the 125cc MotoGP Assen, his second consecutive pole for the 2011 season in only his seventh World Championship start.

French rider Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) pushed hard in the last seconds to surpass the Spanish rookie but had to settle for second, with a time of 1’44.785, a tiny margin of 0.002 ahead of Intact Racing Team Germany rider Sandro Cortese.

Variable weather made for an intense 125cc qualifying session, with rain appearing in the first 10 minutes and sending all the riders back to the pits, but not before local rider Jasper Iwema (Ongetta-Abbink Metaal) set an early provisional pole which stood for the first half of the session.

As the track dried the lap times dropped, and a serious battle for the lead position began between the class heavyweights Zarco, Cortese, Viñales and Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar). Faubel set a time of 1’44.963, placing him at the front of row 2 for the start, followed 0.272s behind by Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) and Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) completing the second row.

Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) crashed out halfway through the qualifying session, his fastest lap placing him seventh on the grid, followed by Nicolás Terol (Bankia Aspar) who crashed on a hot lap, dashing his expectations of a front row start and placing him eighth. The Championship Terol leader crashed earlier in the morning session and fractured the fifth metacarpal of his right hand, in addition to injuring his right ankle.

Sergio Gadea (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) also crashed out of the session early after showing in the top three times, will start from ninth, with Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) leading row 4 in tenth position.

2011 125cc MotoGP: Assen Qualifying Results

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