Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) clinched his first pole position in the Moto2 class, beating Stefan Bradl and Michele Pirro in qualifying for the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix. Marc Márquez completed just two laps to ensure himself a spot on the grid.
Leading the field for the second time this weekend, 2005 125cc World Champion Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) took over the top spot from Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) with a lap of 2'07.512, a two-tenths margin over the Championship leader. Gresini Racing Moto2’s Pirro followed Bradl by two-tenths to clinch his best starting position of the season with third just before crashing out of the qualifying outing.
Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) posted a lap of 2'08.069 to land at the head of row two, with both Espargaró brothers following the Japanese rider, with junior Pol (HP Tuenti Speed Up) ahead of senior Aleix (Pons HP 40) by four-hundredths.
Completing the session in seventh with a best effort of 2'08.240 was Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing), with Claudio Corti (Italtrans Racing) and Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing) joining the Finn on row three. Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project) rounded out the top ten with a time nine-tenths off the pole time set by Lüthi.
With just three points separating title rivals Bradl and Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol), the Spanish rider’s decision to sit out two practice session and to circulate just enough in QP to claim a spot on the grid indicates that the Championship may not remain as close as it sits now going into the final race of the season due to the physical demands of the Sepang circuit. However, after the 18 year old has an additional night of recuperation from his highside in FP1, his fitness might be recovered enough to see a repeat of his last-to-podium performance at the Australian GP.
source: motogp official
