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Faubel Snatches Aragon Pole From Vinales

2 Mins read
Hector Faubel - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com

Hector Faubel - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com


Hector Faubel
sprung a surprise in qualifying for the Grand Prix of Aragon by snatching pole position in the dying seconds, upstaging the championship contenders who were expected to lock out the front row.

Series leaders Nicolas Terol, Johann Zarco and Maverick Vinales each topped a practice session over the course of the weekend and seemed to have the legs on everybody else this afternoon too.

Terol and Zarco traded fastest times on their opening attempts with the Spaniard getting down to a 2:00.159, establishing a lead of 0.406s. After a spell in the garage, Zarco re-emerged to cut the gap to less than a tenth but Terol quickly moved the goalposts again, matching the fastest time of the weekend he'd set yesterday.

With a lead of three quarters of a second, Terol looked to have stamped his authority on the session but Vinales brought himself into contention, taking second with a quarter of an hour to go. Zarco was the next to make gains, splitting the Spaniards on the front row before British rookie Danny Kent soared up the order to take third.

On his final set of tyres, Terol improved again to a 1:59.365, the fastest lap of the weekend before Vinales jumped back onto the front row, breaking the outright lap record in the process. Terol was forced to admit defeat, settling for second place but his teammate was flying behind him, setting the fastest time in sectors two and three.

The Aspar Aprilia has proven very potent indeed on the near 968m back-straight and Faubel needed all the power his RSA machine had to offer, pipping Vinales to pole by 0.009s. Vinales and Terol complete an all-Spanish front row and the points leader will be especially pleased to see his main rival back on row two.

Zarco will have Danny Kent alongside him as the Briton produced another career-best qualifying performance. Luis Salom will round out the second row after a late slipstream helped him up to sixth.

Sandro Cortese was a surprisingly poor seventh ahead of Alberto Moncayo while Efren Vazquez will start down in ninth, giving him little chance to help his teammate against the Aspar duo tomorrow.

Jonas Folger will start tenth on the second Red Bull Ajo Aprilia but Zulfahmi Khairuddin could only manage 31st for the sister AirAsia-Sic-Ajo squad after a nasty high-sided brought his session to an early end.

 

Qualifying Result:

Pos Rider Nat Bike Team Time/Gap
1 Hector Faubel SPA Aprilia Bankia Aspar Team 125cc 1:59.222
2 Maverick Vinales SPA Aprilia Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing +0.009
3 Nicolas Terol SPA Aprilia Bankia Aspar Team 125cc +0.143
4 Johann Zarco FRA Derbi Avant-AirAsia-Ajo +0.376
5 Danny Kent GBR Aprilia Red Bull Ajo MotorSport +0.592
6 Luis Salom SPA Aprilia RW Racing GP +0.680
7 Sandro Cortese GER Aprilia Intact-Racing Team Germany +0.789
8 Alberto Moncayo SPA Aprilia Andalucía Banca Civica +1.094
9 Efren Vazquez SPA Derbi Avant-AirAsia-Ajo +1.210
10 Jonas Folger GER Aprilia Red Bull Ajo MotorSport +1.225
11 Adrian Martin SPA Aprilia Bankia Aspar Team 125cc +1.475
12 Josep Rodriguez SPA Aprilia Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing +1.498
13 Louis Rossi FRA Aprilia Matteoni Racing +1.564
14 Jakub Kornfeil CZE Aprilia Ongetta-Centro-Seta +1.623
15 Marcel Schrotter GER Mahindra Mahindra Racing +1.631
16 Miguel Oliveira POR Aprilia Andalucía Banca Civica +1.896
17 Jasper Iwema NED Aprilia Ongetta-Abbink-Metaal +2.270
18 Niklas Ajo FIN Aprilia TT Motion Events Racing +2.282
19 Luigi Morciano ITA Aprilia Team Italia FMI +2.842
20 Alexis Masbou FRA KTM Caretta Technology +2.860
21 Harry Stafford GBR Aprilia Ongetta-Centro-Seta +2.897
22 Alessandro Tonucci ITA Aprilia Team Italia FMI +3.153
23 Danny Webb GBR Mahindra Mahindra Racing +3.178
24 Giulian Pedone SWI Aprilia Phonica Racing +3.574
25 Francesco Mauriello ITA Aprilia WTR-Ten10 Racing +3.659
26 Sturla Fagerhaug NOR Aprilia WTR-Ten10 Racing +3.741
27 Manuel Tatasciore ITA Aprilia Phonica Racing +3.931
28 Taylor Mackenzie GBR Aprilia Phonica Racing +4.062
29 Joan Perello SPA Aprilia Matteoni Racing +4.788
30 Kevin Hanus (WC) GER Honda Team Hanusch +5.431
31 Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL Derbi AirAsia-Sic-Ajo +5.432
32 Pedro Rodriguez (WC) SPA Aprilia Turismo de Aragon – DVJ +5.664
33 Damien Raemy (WC) SWI KTM Caretta Technology +5.704
107% Qualifying Time: 2:07.568
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