De Angelis takes first Moto2 pole at Phillip Island

Alex de Angelis’ first pole position of the 2010 season came at Phillip Island on Saturday as the JiR Moto2 rider topped qualifying with a final lap of 1’35.148. That saw him finish the session 0.230s ahead of Scott Redding, who had led until the final moments.

The Marc VDS Racing Team rider came close once more to securing his first-ever pole but eventually ended in second position, with his best effort of 1’35.378 ensuring a fifth front-row start in six races.

Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) equalled his best qualification of the season by setting the third-best time, with Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) getting onto the front row for the first time in 2010.

Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) recovered from a fall with 15 minutes remaining to qualify in fifth position, with Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar), Michael Ranseder (Vector Kiefer Racing) and Raffaele De Rosa (Tech 3 Racing) also on row two.

2010 Champion Toni Elías (Gresini Racing Moto2) qualified in ninth, with Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing), wild card Wayne Maxwell (Matteoni Racing) and Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing) completing the top 12.

Race winner in the previous round at Malaysia Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR) had a crash during the session and eventually qualified in 25th position.