Premiere for Simeon

Simeon - who finished on the podium at the French Grand Prix earlier this season - grabbed Saturday’s pole with his best effort of 1’24.665, also achieving his first ever front row start. Torres was denied by the narrow margin of 13 thousandths of a second, while Espargaro’s third place means he will start five positions ahead of title rival and current championship leader Scott Redding. Row 2 will be filled by the still recovering Tom Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing), Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team), while Simon’s teammate Takaaki Nakagami will head up the third row from Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team), whose own best lap missed pole by just under three tenths of a second. The top ten was completed by eight-time Sachsenring podium finisher Alex de Angelis, who next weekend will be competing in the premier MotoGP™ class at Laguna Seca. In 23rd place, Tuenti HP 40’s Tito Rabat struggled to make an impression due to a twisted left ankle sustained in a crash during final practice.