KTM's Marquez in row two for 125cc GP in Mugello

2009-05-30 08:16
In some impressive late qualifying track action, Red Bull KTM Moto Sport's Marc Marquez proved he is up with the fastest on Saturday when he secured fifth place to put him on the second row for Sunday's GP on the Mugello circuit in Italy.

The 16-year-old Spaniard, who scored his first career pole in Le Mans at the last race to become the second youngest rider ever to be on pole, split a pack of Aprilias in the closing minutes of the session to finish 0,813 seconds off the pole sitter's pace.

Marquez has already had an eventful weekend. He came unstuck near the end of the practice session on Friday when he hit a bump going into one of the chicanes. This incident clearly failed to upset the courageous young Spaniard as he assumed his rightful position at the front of the pack during Saturday's qualifying.

Marc Marquez: "It took us a long time to come to grips with the right settings for this circuit. We evaluated two set-up options that were radically different from each other. Even though we hadn't yet found all the right solutions I tried to push yesterday and I crashed after hitting one of the bumps. But today, everything seemed to come together. I was able to speed up and get a second row grid position. Now my aim for the race is to get a good start and hang on to the leading group!"

Teammate Cameron Beaubier did make an effort to return to the track after doctors agreed he could ride on Friday. But the 16-year-old American came in after four laps when the team decided he should rest his injured wrist until the next race in Catalunya, Spain, in the middle of June. Beaubier damaged his wrist during a fall at the last race in Le Mans, France.

Cameron Beaubier: I'm a bit disappointed I can't ride here in Mugello. When I arrived on Thursday the doctors and physiotherapists were happy with the progress of my injured arm so we decided that I would try to race but after only two laps I realised that it was going to be too painful to ride because I fractured two bones in my left forearm when I crashed in Le Mans. There wasn't much sense in gritting my teeth and risking an aggravation to my injuries for a 25th place in the race. That's why we decided to give this race a miss and hopefully return fully fit for the next race in Barcelona!"


Results, 125 cc qualifying
1. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia 1'58.134
2. Scott Redding, Britain, Aprilia, 1'58.431
3. Julian Simon, Spain, Aprilia, 1'58.575
4. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 1'58.621
5. Marc Marquez, Spain, 1'58.947 232
6. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia, 1'59.121 232

Source: KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG

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