Aoyama prepares for pole start with warmup leadership

On pole for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Hiroshi Aoyama once again took his Red Bull KTM machine around the Sepang circuit as the fastest rider on Sunday morning. The Japanese rider stopped the clock at 2´07.813 late on in the 250cc warmup session, besting Alvaro Bautista by just over a tenth of a second.

The top two in the 20 minute run breached the 2´08 barrier right at the end of the session, knocking Repsol KTM´s Julian Simon from the top spot. Simon was the only rider not on the front row to place in the top five in the session, with title favourite Marco Simoncelli and Mika Kallio also amongst the frontrunners. Lotus Aprilia´s Aleix Espargaro completed the top six.

Yuki Takahashi, Mattia Pasini, Alex Debon and Roberto Locatelli were also present in the top ten, with home rider Ratthapark Wilairot in twelfth.