Iannone earns 125cc Brno pole

Italian rider Andrea Iannone, who started the 2009 World Championship in fine form with two wins in the opening two races but has since been plagued by inconsistency, has the chance to put things right on Sunday at Brno having qualified on pole for the second time this year.

The Ongetta Team ISPA rider’s 2’08.171s time on the 12th of his 14th laps was enough to put him at the head of the grid in front of second fastest competitor Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team) who lapped 0.3s behind him.

The front row of the grid for the tenth 125cc race of the year is completed by German rider Sandro Cortese (Ajo Interwetten) and World Championship leader Julián Simón (Bancaja Aspar), that pair going round with a similar pace to Terol’s.

Simón’s British team-mate Bradley Smith will start in fifth place, having lapped 0.786s down on Iannone’s pace, and the Oxfordshire teenage is to be joined by Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing), Aspar colleague Sergio Gadea and Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team) on row two.

A disappointing session for Marc Márquez (Red Bull KTM) saw him qualify down in 20th place having crashed towards the end of QP, whilst the young Spaniard’s team-mate Cameron Beaubier misses Sunday’s race due to the fractured left collarbone which he sustained on Saturday morning.