Aoyama dominance cements pole

A new 250cc pole position lap record of 2’06.767 was set by Hiroshi Aoyama as the Scot Honda rider continued his fine form this weekend at Sepang.

Having posted the fastest times in both practice sessions, Aoyama was 0.332s clear of Jules Cluzel (Matteoni Racing), with Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) completing the front row.

Metis Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli qualified in eighth spot, coming in 1.149s off the pace set by his title rival Aoyama.

Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team) will front up the second row on the grid, with Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG) and Héctor Faubel (Valencia CF - Honda SAG) both qualifying ahead of Simoncelli.

There were crashes for Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) – who will start from 15th – while Mattia Pasini (Paddock GP Racing Team) also had a spill, finishing in 12th. Alex Debon’s session was ended prematurely on his final lap when a mechanical problem meant the Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens rider could not improve on 11th spot.