Moto2: Record pace hands Luthi pole

Tom Luthi was undeterred by an early rain shower and returned to track to claim pole position in qualifying for the Moto2 grand prix race in Le Mans.

The Garage Plus Interwetten man was able to repeatedly shave time off once back of track after a fall in the damp to top the timesheets in Le Mans as he did in France last season.

The Swiss riders 1m 36.548 showed what kind of improvements the new track is capable of in drier conditions and held off on-track rival Francesco Bagnaia.

The Sky Racing Team VR46 rookie rider impressed with a first podium in Jerez and kept the improvements coming with his first front row start and just 0.026s behind Luthi despite a late tumble.

They are joined by EG 0,0 Marc VDS's championship leader Franco Morbidelli, who gained time late in the session.

Luca Marini had an excellent run for Forward, scoring his best ever qualifying placing in fourth, looking confident around the iconic track.

Fifth went to Dominique Aegerter, the top Suter for Kiefer Racing after too making late progress.

Jerez winner Alex Marquez rallied for sixth for EG 0,0 Marc VDS after suffering a hairline fracture in his practice fall, he too crashed again in the session , but limped to his bike to get back on and challenge over the latter stages.

Mattia Pasini starts seventh for Italtrans, Lorenzo Baldassarri eighth for Forward, Marcel Schrotter ninth for Dynavolt Intact GP with his team-mate Sandro Cortese just a shade slower to also make the top ten.

The French Tech 3 team start their home grand prix eleventh thanks to Xavi Vierge (also a faller) while home rider Fabio Quartararo starts 20th for the Pons team.

2016 British Supersport Champion Tarran Mackenzie enters the championship as Danny Kent's permanent replacement at Kiefer and finished his first qualifying session 29th.

There were also early falls for Sandro Cortese, Andrea Locatelli, and Jorge Navarro, with the rain flag coming out just before Axel Pons joined them in hitting the deck.

Tetsuta Nagashima fell during the second run after touching the slippery white line, while Pons took a second trip into the gravel in the closing minutes, swiftly followed by Simone Corsi and Hafizh Syahrin.

Iker Lecuona returns to the sidelines after Alex Marquez took him out in FP3, fracturing his collarbone, leaving him unfit to take part in qualifying.

By Lisa Lewis