Iannone leads 125c class in Donington Park opener

Despite the presence of seven British riders (three regulars + four wildcard entries) in the 125cc class at Donington Park, it was an Italian, a Spaniard and a Hungarian who showed the best early form in the opening lower cylinder category practice session.

Andrea Iannone was the pacesetter under the cloudy Midlands sky, stopping the clock with a fastest time of 1´37.705. The I.C Team rider proved himself to be highly capable in wet weather when he took his maiden Grand Prix victory in China back in May, something that will prove invaluable with the unpredictable British weather.

The provisional poleman at both Mugello and Barcelona -a position confirmed with a first pole position at the latter- Pol Espargaro started as he means to go on in the first 125cc practice session at Donington Park. The Belson Derbi rider was just over a tenth of a second off Iannone´s marker, with the teenager chasing his first World Championship win after a series of podium finishes.

Gabor Talmacsi was third fastest, almost inseparable from Espargaro. The 2007 World Champion was a mere 0´001 slower than last season´s Rookie of the Year, in turn ahead of Tomoyoshi Koyama and Nico Terol.

Talmacsi´s Bancaja Aspar teammate Sergio Gadea was sixth on the timing screen, despite a crash at the Esses early on in the session. The quickest home rider was DeGraaf Grand Prix´s Danny Webb, ahead of Joan Olive, Simone Corsi and fellow Britain Scott Redding.