Terol unstoppable as he rides to another 125GP pole in Malaysia
Nico Terol has proven too good all year long in 125cc Grand Prix racing.
Nicolás Terol will start the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position ahead of Faubel and Cortese after an eventful 125cc qualifying session at the Sepang International Circuit saw title contender Zarco crash.
Championship leader Terol (Bankia Aspar) edged team mate Héctor Faubel out of pole position by 0.015s in the final moments of qualifying for Sunday’s race with a lap of 2’13.579.
Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany), who held provisional pole early in qualifying, finished 0.375s off Terol to take third on the starting grid.
With Sunday’s race potentially deciding the last ever World 125cc title, disaster struck contender Johann Zarco as he crashed eight minutes into the session.
The Frenchman rushed to the pits to get his bike fixed, re-emerging with 15 minutes remaining but immediately pulled off track with an apparent mechanical issue.
The Avant-AirAsia-Ajo rider managed to return to the track again, only to run off in a push for a grid position higher than the last row. Zarco completed the session in 15th, putting him on row five for tomorrow’s race.
Row two is comprised of Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) whose lap of 2’14.581 put him ahead of Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) and Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport), the two both bouncing back after the pair crashed in separate incidents in FP3 in the morning.
Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing) starts from the head of row three with Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) and Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar) joining the young rookie.
Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport), who highsided in FP3 and was taken to the medical centre for evaluation, recovered enough to land tenth in qualifying and will start from the head of row four.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin (AirAsia-SIC-Ajo) did his home fans proud by finishing 13th in the field of 32 riders.
Taylor Mackenzie (Phonica Racing), Harry Stafford (Ongetta-Centro Seta) and Giulian Pedone (Phonica Racing) all had falls in the session, the three will start from 22nd, 19th and 18th respectively.
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