2012 Assen Moto2: Marquez on Pole

2012 Moto2 Championship

During an incident-packed qualifying at the Iveco TT Assen in the Moto2 class, it was Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez who took pole position in front of Pol Espargaró and Andrea Iannone.

Márquez, who had played second fiddle to Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Espargaró for all of the preceding practices, pulled a lap of 1.37:133 out of the bag to snatch pole, despite ending up in the gravel at the end of the session. Espargaró finished just over four-tenths behind his rival, yet managed to keep Speed Master’s Iannone at bay a further three and a half tenths down.

GP Team Switzerland’s Randy Krummenacher nearly caused a front-row upset, yet had to settle for a very credible fourth instead. Compatriot Dominique Aegerter, on board his Technomag-CIP machine, lines up next to him in fifth, after finding some impressive form at the Dutch track. Completing the second row is Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi with his FTR bike, as he looks to get onto the podium for the first time this season.

Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding had a disappointing qualifying for his standards, ending down in seventh, ahead of Tech 3 Racing’s fellow countryman Bradley Smith on his Mistral 610. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis made it two FTR bikes in the top ten with a solid display, ahead of Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, who will no doubt look to improve in tomorrow’s race.

There was drama early on as QMMF Racing Team teammates Elena Rosell and Anthony West crashed, as the female Spanish rider tried to avoid West as he slid off track. Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón following suit shortly after, and with 35 minutes left of the session, JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco had his second crash of the day, with Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti and Kiefer Racing’s Max Neukirchner also crashing out in the latter stages of qualifying. None of the riders were seriously hurt in the incidents.

2012 Assen Moto2 Qualifying Results: