Bradl roars to pole in Moto2 Qualifying

Conditions had improved compared to earlier in the weekend with less wind and warmer temperatures for the forty five minute qualifying session. It was expected to be a lively affair and once again Moto2 didn’t disappoint. It was that man again Bradl who brought his excellent practice form into qualifying and set the fastest lap time of 2’00.168 and in turn secured his first ever pole position.

Reigning 125cc World Champion Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) will join the German on the front row after finishing 0.207 seconds behind. Márquez in 2010 started the 125cc Qatar GP from pole and eventually finished third in the race, so will be looking for a good result tomorrow in his debut Moto2 race. Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) will join them on the front row.

Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) took fourth place, with Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) just behind in fifth.

Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) many people’s prediction for the Moto2 title this season, struggled in qualifying until the last moments where he jumped up to sixth position, 1.262 off Bradl’s pole time.

Bradley Smith (Tech 3) produced his best to qualify in seventh place which may have been a bit of a surprise after being outside of the top 15 in FP3. Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) and Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) were eighth and ninth, a particularly impressive result for the Italian newcomer.

Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) had a difficult start to the session after problems with his setup and he missed a lot of valuable track time. The 18 year old managed to finish in tenth place in qualifying which may be disappointing after he had been consistently higher in the practice sessions.

Max Neukirchner (MZ Racing) had to drag his bike through the gravel with fifteen minutes left of qualifying and with only one bike available in the Moto2 class, he had to rush back to the pits. He made it with time to spare to qualify 12th.

Kev Coghlan (Team Aeroport de Castelló) finished 33rd.