Debon takes 250cc pole by one thousandth of a second

Whilst rain at the beginning of the second 250cc qualifying session didn´t completely stop the quarter litre riders´ attempts at taking pole position, it did compact their attempts at hot laps until the final five minutes of Saturday afternoon.

With little time to get find their rhythm, and the track still slightly damp, only Lotus Aprilia´s Alex Debon was able to find the form to take him ahead of Alvaro Bautista by just a thousandth of a second and into pole for tomorrow´s race, with a 1´38.478 lap of Le Mans.

The Spanish veteran knocked his fellow countryman off the top spot with the clock down to zero, leaving no time for an Aspar rider comeback. Bautista, Metis Gilera´s Marco Simoncelli and Emmi-Caffe Latte man Thomas Luthi will join Debon on the front row for the Alice Grand Prix de France.

Simoncelli added his name to the list of riders running off track at La Chapelle, whilst fifth placed Mattia Pasini took a shortcut along the asphalt escape road. The Polaris World rider was unable to improve upon his time from yesterday, but this was thankfully not a consequence of a heavy morning crash. He is joined by title rival Mika Kallio, Spaniard Julian Simon and former World Champion Manuel Poggiali on the second row.