Malaysian GP: Bradders 3rd Despite Qualifying Crash
Hot temperatures in this afternoon’s single qualifying session for the 125cc Malaysian Grand Prix made life difficult for the engines in the smaller class, with lap times slower than they had been in the cooler morning conditions, but played into the hands of Spanish riders, who took six of the first seven positions on the grid. Marc Márquez took pole position, with Bancaja’s newly-crowned World Champion Julián Simón the only other rider capable of breaking the 2’14 barrier and missing out on snatching pole from his compatriot by just 0.055 seconds.
It was a bittersweet afternoon for Bradley Smith, who crashed in the final corner with three minutes remaining of the session. However, despite a small fracture in his foot the Brit will line-up on the front row tomorrow as he looks to wrap up second ion the championship from third on the grid.
3rd Bradley Smith 2.14.209 (12 laps):
“The crash was totally unexpected. I was riding hard because I knew I had a chance of setting pole and just before the end of the session the bike threw me out of my seat coming out of the final corner. It was a shame because it meant we couldn’t improve any further although third place on the grid isn’t a bad start. The doctors say I have a small fracture of the fifth metatarsal on my right foot but that won’t stop me from racing tomorrow. I’ll strap it up for warm-up and see how it feels but if it’s too painful I’ll have an injection and I’ll be fine. Our pace is good enough to fight for the win so I hope a little incident like this doesn’t prove to be a handicap.”
Pos. Rider Team Lap time Gap
1 Marc MARQUEZ Red Bull KTM Moto Sport 2′13.756
2 Julian SIMON Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc 2′13.811 0.055
3 Bradley SMITH Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc 2′14.209 0.453
4 Sandro CORTESE Ajo Interwetten 2′14.231 0.475
5 Nicolas TEROL Jack & Jones Team 2′14.403 0.647
6 Esteve RABAT Blusens Aprilia 2′14.686 0.930
7 Joan OLIVE Derbi Racing Team 2′14.816 1.060
8 Danny WEBB Degraaf Grand Prix 2′14.920 1.164
9 Efren VAZQUEZ Derbi Racing Team 2′14.975 1.219
10 Jonas FOLGER Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. 2′14.992 1.236
11 Pol ESPARGARO Derbi Racing Team 2′15.019 1.263
12 Randy KRUMMENACHER Degraaf Grand Prix 2′15.219 1.463
13 Andrea IANNONE Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. 2′15.282 1.526
14 Lorenzo ZANETTI Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. 2′15.374 1.618
15 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. 2′15.436 1.680
16 Simone CORSI Fontana Racing 2′15.455 1.699
17 Scott REDDING Blusens Aprilia 2′15.484 1.728
18 Sergio GADEA Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc 2′15.529 1.773
19 Stefan BRADL Viessmann Kiefer Racing 2′15.533 1.777
20 Luis SALOM Jack & Jones Team 2′15.951 2.195
21 Dominique AEGERTER Ajo Interwetten 2′16.278 2.522
22 Johann ZARCO WTR San Marino Team 2′16.364 2.608
23 Michael RANSEDER CBC Corse 2′16.530 2.774
24 Cameron BEAUBIER Red Bull KTM Moto Sport 2′16.533 2.777
25 Elly ILIAS Air Asia Team Malaysia 2′17.952 4.196
26 Tomoyoshi KOYAMA Loncin Racing 2′18.348 4.592
27 Jasper IWEMA Racing Team Germany 2′18.572 4.816
28 Jakub KORNFEIL Loncin Racing 2′18.749 4.993
29 Blake LEIGH-SMITH Degraaf Grand Prix 2′19.624 5.868
30 Muhammad ZULFAHMI Air Asia Team Malaysia 2′19.655 5.899
31 Luca MARCONI CBC Corse 2′19.868 6.112
32 Luca VITALI CBC Corse 2′21.127 7.371
33 Quentin JACQUET Matteoni Racing 2′21.148 7.392
