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2011 Moto2
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol rider Marc Marquez clinched the third pole position of his Moto2 career ahead of Sunday’s race at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland in Sachsenring, Germany, chased by Stefan Bradl and Aleix Espargaro.
Moto2 Championship leader Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) held provisional pole in the first minutes of the qualifying session, but was moved to second when Espargaró (Pons HP 40) took the lead. Espargaró then dominated the session until Marquez stole provisional pole in the last three minutes, then improved his time to cement the position with a lap time of 1’24.733.
\Meanwhile the German Moto2 rider, who finished ninth in his home Moto2 race last year, improved his time in the last seconds to post a 1’24.862, just 0.038s quicker than Espargaró, moving the Spaniard into third spot on the grid.
With the top 25 Moto2 riders all within one second of each other, the battles for the second and third row positions was stiff, with Italian rider Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) landing the leading spot on the second row. Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) took fifth in a superb return to competition, with Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) completing the second row.
Third row is comprised of Belgian Xavier Simeon (Tech 3 B) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing), with Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) taking the final spot before a fall at the end of the session.
Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX), Max Neukirchner (MZ Racing) and Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) make up the fourth row, while Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing), who was fastest in the morning session, crashed in the qualifying session but was able to re-enter and qualify 13th.
2011 Sachsenring Moto2 Qualifying Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 246.3 | 1’24.733 | |
| 2. | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 245.7 | 1’24.862 | 0.129 / 0.129 |
| 3. | 40 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 241.9 | 1’24.900 | 0.167 / 0.038 |
| 4. | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 238.3 | 1’25.085 | 0.352 / 0.185 |
| 5. | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 243.5 | 1’25.189 | 0.456 / 0.104 |
| 6. | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 244.5 | 1’25.223 | 0.490 / 0.034 |
| 7. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 B | Tech 3 | 238.9 | 1’25.235 | 0.502 / 0.012 |
| 8. | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 244.7 | 1’25.271 | 0.538 / 0.036 |
| 9. | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 244.2 | 1’25.304 | 0.571 / 0.033 |
| 10. | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Blusens-STX | FTR | 240.3 | 1’25.310 | 0.577 / 0.006 |
| 11. | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 241.3 | 1’25.379 | 0.646 / 0.069 |
| 12. | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Paddock Moto2 | Suter | 245.5 | 1’25.434 | 0.701 / 0.055 |
| 13. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 242.8 | 1’25.443 | 0.710 / 0.009 |
| 14. | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HP Tuenti Speed Up | FTR | 242.0 | 1’25.453 | 0.720 / 0.010 |
| 15. | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 242.1 | 1’25.456 | 0.723 / 0.003 |
| 16. | 18 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 241.0 | 1’25.465 | 0.732 / 0.009 |
| 17. | 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 244.7 | 1’25.495 | 0.762 / 0.030 |
| 18. | 34 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Blusens-STX | FTR | 244.6 | 1’25.510 | 0.777 / 0.015 |
| 19. | 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons HP 40 | Pons Kalex | 243.5 | 1’25.515 | 0.782 / 0.005 |
| 20. | 54 | Kenan SOFUOGLU | TUR | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 242.8 | 1’25.579 | 0.846 / 0.064 |
| 21. | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 243.3 | 1’25.613 | 0.880 / 0.034 |
| 22. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 241.0 | 1’25.616 | 0.883 / 0.003 |
| 23. | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 238.1 | 1’25.637 | 0.904 / 0.021 |
| 24. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 241.4 | 1’25.723 | 0.990 / 0.086 |
| 25. | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Suter | 245.8 | 1’25.788 | 1.055 / 0.065 |
| 26. | 9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Avintia-STX | FTR | 240.4 | 1’25.806 | 1.073 / 0.018 |
| 27. | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 239.7 | 1’25.851 | 1.118 / 0.045 |
| 28. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 240.8 | 1’25.870 | 1.137 / 0.019 |
| 29. | 25 | Alex BALDOLINI | ITA | NGM Forward Racing | Suter | 241.1 | 1’25.872 | 1.139 / 0.002 |
| 30. | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | Speed Up | FTR | 239.5 | 1’25.900 | 1.167 / 0.028 |
| 31. | 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 242.5 | 1’26.130 | 1.397 / 0.230 |
| 32. | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda Singha SAG | FTR | 243.0 | 1’26.211 | 1.478 / 0.081 |
| 33. | 75 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Ioda Racing Project | FTR | 243.0 | 1’26.340 | 1.607 / 0.129 |
| 34. | 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans Racing Team | Suter | 239.5 | 1’26.482 | 1.749 / 0.142 |
| 35. | 64 | Santiago HERNANDEZ | COL | SAG Team | FTR | 240.1 | 1’27.166 | 2.433 / 0.684 |
| 36. | 97 | Steven ODENDAAL | RSA | MS Racing | Suter | 239.8 | 1’27.591 | 2.858 / 0.425 |
| 37. | 24 | Tommaso LORENZETTI | ITA | Aeroport de Castello | FTR | 236.3 | 1’27.816 | 3.083 / 0.225 |
| 38. | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 241.1 | 1’28.412 | 3.679 / 0.596 |
