Tuenti Movil HP 40’s Pol Espargaro took the honors for most pole positions in the Moto2 class this season, with eight in total, at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, as Tom Lüthi and Takaaki Nakagami join him on the front row.
Espargaro was once again on blistering pace as he set the quickest time of 1.35’191, despite crashing out in the latter stages. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Marquez was in fact the second fastest man of the session, however his penalty for running into Simone Corsi yesterday means he will start last on the grid.
Like his compatriot he also had a tumble after loosing the front, which he stated afterwards has been an issue in all sessions so far. Interwetten-Paddock’s Luthi upped his pace at the end to start second, and Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami was promoted to third to round out the front row.
Mapfre Aspar Team’s local rider Nico Terol will be very pleased to start fourth in front of his home crowd, just ahead of teammate Jordi Torres. Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter carried over his good form from the morning session to complete the second row, and will no doubt look to emulate his podium here from last year.
Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding will be disappointed with not being on the front row, yet the Brit will no doubt be on the pace come race-day, as he starts with Came IodaRacing Project’s Corsi and Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone alongside him. JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco completes the top ten.
Apart from Espargaró and Márquez, there were crashes for the Pons team’s Axel Pons, as well as QMMF Racing’s Elena Rosell. Fortunately, none of the riders were hurt in the crashes. Espargaró’s pole position confirmed him today as the winner of the Tissot Pole of Poles trophy.
2012 Valencia Moto2 Qualifying Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 40 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Tuenti Movil HP 40 | Kalex | 268.8 | 1’35.191 | |
| 2. | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol | Suter | 271.7 | 1’35.597 | 0.406 / 0.406 |
| 3. | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten-Paddock | Suter | 268.2 | 1’35.756 | 0.565 / 0.159 |
| 4. | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 267.4 | 1’35.801 | 0.610 / 0.045 |
| 5. | 18 | Nicolas TEROL | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 267.1 | 1’35.858 | 0.667 / 0.057 |
| 6. | 81 | Jordi TORRES | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 | Suter | 265.7 | 1’35.915 | 0.724 / 0.057 |
| 7. | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 265.8 | 1’35.949 | 0.758 / 0.034 |
| 8. | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 265.2 | 1’35.966 | 0.775 / 0.017 |
| 9. | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | FTR | 266.9 | 1’35.983 | 0.792 / 0.017 |
| 10. | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Speed Master | Speed Up | 268.2 | 1’36.016 | 0.825 / 0.033 |
| 11. | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 266.4 | 1’36.108 | 0.917 / 0.092 |
| 12. | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Blusens Avintia | Suter | 266.6 | 1’36.129 | 0.938 / 0.021 |
| 13. | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 264.7 | 1’36.236 | 1.045 / 0.107 |
| 14. | 80 | Esteve RABAT | SPA | Tuenti Movil HP 40 | Kalex | 271.1 | 1’36.278 | 1.087 / 0.042 |
| 15. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Italtrans Racing Team | Kalex | 270.0 | 1’36.483 | 1.292 / 0.205 |
| 16. | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Marc VDS Racing Team | Kalex | 267.3 | 1’36.489 | 1.298 / 0.006 |
| 17. | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Kiefer Racing | Kalex | 267.8 | 1’36.511 | 1.320 / 0.022 |
| 18. | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | FTR | 266.5 | 1’36.583 | 1.392 / 0.072 |
| 19. | 4 | Randy KRUMMENACHER | SWI | GP Team Switzerland | Kalex | 272.9 | 1’36.629 | 1.438 / 0.046 |
| 20. | 8 | Gino REA | GBR | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 267.4 | 1’36.687 | 1.496 / 0.058 |
| 21. | 28 | Roman RAMOS | SPA | SAG Team | FTR | 265.6 | 1’36.701 | 1.510 / 0.014 |
| 22. | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 267.5 | 1’36.771 | 1.580 / 0.070 |
| 23. | 54 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | FTR | 267.3 | 1’36.868 | 1.677 / 0.097 |
| 24. | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 | Suter | 267.6 | 1’36.873 | 1.682 / 0.005 |
| 25. | 23 | Marcel SCHROTTER | GER | Desguaces La Torre SAG | Bimota | 261.8 | 1’36.990 | 1.799 / 0.117 |
| 26. | 49 | Axel PONS | SPA | Tuenti Movil HP 40 | Kalex | 267.5 | 1’37.096 | 1.905 / 0.106 |
| 27. | 17 | Dani RIVAS | SPA | TSR Galicia School | Kalex | 260.4 | 1’37.228 | 2.037 / 0.132 |
| 28. | 75 | Tomoyoshi KOYAMA | JPN | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 268.6 | 1’37.357 | 2.166 / 0.129 |
| 29. | 88 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | Arguiñano Racing Team | AJR | 263.7 | 1’37.384 | 2.193 / 0.027 |
| 30. | 22 | Alessandro ANDREOZZI | ITA | S/Master Speed Up | Speed Up | 264.9 | 1’37.463 | 2.272 / 0.079 |
| 31. | 97 | Rafid Topan SUCIPTO | INA | QMMF Racing Team | Speed Up | 265.0 | 1’38.982 | 3.791 / 1.519 |
| 32. | 57 | Eric GRANADO | BRA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 262.5 | 1’39.602 | 4.411 / 0.620 |
| 33. | 82 | Elena ROSELL | SPA | QMMF Racing Team | Speed Up | 265.6 | 1’40.063 | 4.872 / 0.461 |
