Rabat on pole after close-fought qualifying

Rabat on pole after close-fought qualifying - Printable Version

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Rabat on pole after close-fought qualifying - Malcolm - 12-10-2013

Tito Rabat continued his domination of the Sepang weekend by clinching pole position for the Moto2™ Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Having locked out every session so far, the Spaniard retained the top spot but both Tom Luthi and Pol Espargaro were less than one tenth of a second slower. Championship leader Scott Redding will start from tenth on the grid.

Sublime all weekend, Rabat sealed his second pole (his first having come in Jerez) with a 2’07.063 lap time. As he and Tuenti HP 40 teammate Espargaro sandwich Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing’s Luthi into second place, Espargaro is seven positions in front of rival Redding; however, Redding started 13th last time out in Aragón but was able to finish one position behind Espargaro. At present, the Englishman heads Espargaro by 20 points, with Rabat 44 behind the leader.

Row 2 will be filled by Came Iodaracing Project’s Johann Zarco, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami who rejoined the session after a crash at the final corner. Alex de Angelis will line up seventh for NGM Mobile Forward Racing from Xavier Simeon (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team) and Jordi Torres (Aspar Team Moto2). Joining Redding on Row 4 will be Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) and Marcel Schrotter (Maptaq SAG Zelos Team).

Several riders hit trouble during the Qualifying session. Just before Nakagami fell at the final turn, teammate Julian Simon (17th) crashed at Turn 1. Earlier on, Malaysian wildcard Azlan Shah (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, 27th) highsided on the exit of the final corner, whereas Alex Mariñelarena (Blusens Avintia, 24th) lost control at Turn 2.

Sunday’s Moto2™ race will begin at 2:20pm local time (GMT +2).

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