Barberá keeps pole run going with second consecutive 250cc top spot

A second consecutive 250cc pole went to Héctor Barberá at the Assen circuit, as the PepeWorld rider took his sixth career top spot with a 1’40.019 on Friday afternoon. Barberá was just over a tenth of a second speedier than the two riders above him in the overall standings, with Scot Racing man Hiroshi Aoyama and Mapfre Aspar’s Álvaro Bautista both coming close to the front marker on the grid.

Joining the trio on the front row is reigning 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli, concluding a first row quartet sure to provide thrills and spills in the Alice TT Assen. The second line is also packed with talent, as Balatonring stand-in Aleix Espargaró continued his impressive one-off showing to head Alex Debón, Raffaele de Rosa and Mattia Pasini.

There were fewer crashes in the afternoon run than in the morning session, but a fall for Stevie Bonsey was notable for its flinging the American from his Aprilia machine and onto the asphalt. Bonsey is expected to ride tomorrow despite the incident.