Lüthi takes surprise first pole of his career in Moto2 at Sepang
Thomas Luthi rode to his first pole position in Moto2 at Sepang.
Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) clinched his first pole position in the Moto2 class, beating Stefan Bradl and Michele Pirro, whilst 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 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.
Márquez, who had sat out both Friday afternoon’s second practice and Saturday morning’s third session as he continued to recover from his huge crash in FP1, did enough to qualify in 36th position.
Just three points separate the Spaniard and Championship leader Bradl going into Sunday’s penultimate race of the season.
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