2012 Moto2
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s championship leader Marc Márquez claimed pole position at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France despite a crash early in the session.
The Spaniard recorded his third consecutive pole position with a best lap of 1.37’710, overcoming an early scare, as he lost the front end with 25 minutes to go. He was able to return to the pits and head back out on track shortly after.
The Moto2 grid was lucky with the weather and riders were able to run in dry conditions almost right up to the chequered flag, where Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi managed to sneak into second place ahead of Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró.
Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding heads the second row, after failing to improve on his time due to a crash on the final quick lap. He starts ahead of Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone, who was pushing hard until the very end, despite some spots of rain appearing on his last run. Sixth place went to Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio, who was just over two-tenths off the Brit.
NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis starts from seventh, ahead of JiR Moto2’s local favourite Johann Zarco, who put in a strong performance in front of his home crowd. Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti continued his good form from this morning as he finished ninth, with Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías rounding out the top ten.
Apart from Márquez and Redding, there were further crashes for S/Master Speed Up’s Mike Di Meglio and Tech 3 Racing’s Xavier Simeon. Simeon sustained multiple fractures in his left hand, a fracture in his left foot, and has been taken to hospital to check on potential pelvis trauma.
2012 Le Mans Moto2 Qualifying Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | Suter | 254.1 | 1’37.710 | |
| 2. | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten-Paddock | Suter | 256.8 | 1’37.739 | 0.029 / 0.029 |
| 3. | 40 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 253.8 | 1’38.190 | 0.480 / 0.451 |
| 4. | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 250.3 | 1’38.369 | 0.659 / 0.179 |
| 5. | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Speed Up | 252.6 | 1’38.399 | 0.689 / 0.030 |
| 6. | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 253.6 | 1’38.574 | 0.864 / 0.175 |
| 7. | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | RSM | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 251.7 | 1’38.662 | 0.952 / 0.088 |
| 8. | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 251.7 | 1’38.752 | 1.042 / 0.090 |
| 9. | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 247.1 | 1’38.795 | 1.085 / 0.043 |
| 10. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 250.6 | 1’38.826 | 1.116 / 0.031 |
| 11. | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Blusens Avintia | Suter | 253.2 | 1’38.827 | 1.117 / 0.001 |
| 12. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 251.5 | 1’38.863 | 1.153 / 0.036 |
| 13. | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland | Kalex | 256.2 | 1’38.880 | 1.170 / 0.017 |
| 14. | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | FTR | 251.5 | 1’38.961 | 1.251 / 0.081 |
| 15. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | Arguiñano Racing Team | AJR | 249.5 | 1’39.061 | 1.351 / 0.100 |
| 16. | 49 | Axel PONS | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 251.7 | 1’39.105 | 1.395 / 0.044 |
| 17. | 18 | Nicolas TEROL | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 252.6 | 1’39.229 | 1.519 / 0.124 |
| 18. | 80 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | Kalex | 255.7 | 1’39.258 | 1.548 / 0.029 |
| 19. | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 250.6 | 1’39.301 | 1.591 / 0.043 |
| 20. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 253.8 | 1’39.315 | 1.605 / 0.014 |
| 21. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 248.8 | 1’39.353 | 1.643 / 0.038 |
| 22. | 44 | Roberto ROLFO | ITA | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 250.2 | 1’39.414 | 1.704 / 0.061 |
| 23. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | S/Master Speed Up | Speed Up | 253.3 | 1’39.520 | 1.810 / 0.106 |
| 24. | 8 | Gino REA | GBR | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 253.2 | 1’39.796 | 2.086 / 0.276 |
| 25. | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 252.0 | 1’39.797 | 2.087 / 0.001 |
| 26. | 7 | Alexander LUNDH | SWE | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | MZ-RE Honda | 249.7 | 1’39.924 | 2.214 / 0.127 |
| 27. | 76 | Max NEUKIRCHNER | GER | Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 247.0 | 1’40.120 | 2.410 / 0.196 |
| 28. | 95 | Anthony WEST | AUS | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 247.6 | 1’40.573 | 2.863 / 0.453 |
| 29. | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 249.4 | 1’40.784 | 3.074 / 0.211 |
| 30. | 47 | Angel RODRIGUEZ | SPA | Desguaces La Torre SAG | Bimota | 245.6 | 1’41.443 | 3.733 / 0.659 |
| 31. | 82 | Elena ROSELL | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 243.6 | 1’41.634 | 3.924 / 0.191 |
| 32. | 10 | Marco COLANDREA | SWI | SAG Team | FTR | 248.7 | 1’42.182 | 4.472 / 0.548 |
