Mike Di Meglio took provisional pole position for this weekend's 125cc race at Estoril in Portugal on Friday.
The Ajo Motorsport rider moved to the top of the timesheets with just seven minutes of the session remaining, and then went even quicker on his following lap to set an unbeatable time of 1:47.990.
His nearest challenge was Nicolas Terol on the Jack & Jones WRB machine, setting his best effort on the final lap of the session, to just edge out Michael Ranseder and championship leader Simone Corsi.
But the man kicking himself the most was Japan's Tomoyoshi Koyama, who had gone second quickest in the closing minutes of the session and then looked set to better that performance when he fell late in the lap. He had dropped to fifth by the chequered flag.
There was disappointment for Briton Bradley Smith on the Polaris World bike, having been on pole position for the first two races of the season. He ended up 22nd overall, more than two seconds off the pace.
Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Mike Di Meglio Ajo Motorsport 1:47.990 12
2. Nicolas Terol Jack & Jones WRB 1:48.357 + 0.367 14
3. Michael Ranseder I.C. Team 1:48.369 + 0.379 14
4. Simone Corsi Jack & Jones WRB 1:48.407 + 0.417 15
5. Tomoyoshi Koyama ISPA KTM Aran 1:48.781 + 0.791 10
6. Sandro Cortese Emmi - Caffe Latte 1:48.795 + 0.805 14
7. Sergio Gadea Bancaja Aspar Team 1:48.866 + 0.876 13
8. Gabor Talmacsi Bancaja Aspar Team 1:48.904 + 0.914 14
9. Joan Olive Belson Derbi 1:49.035 + 1.045 15
10. Andrea Iannone I.C. Team 1:49.080 + 1.090 14
11. Pablo Nieto Onde 2000 KTM 1:49.222 + 1.232 14
12. Alexis Masbou Loncin Racing 1:49.381 + 1.391 13
13. Raffaele De Rosa Onde 2000 KTM 1:49.484 + 1.494 14
14. Efren Vazquez Blusens Aprilia Junior 1:49.495 + 1.505 14
15. Esteve Rabat Repsol KTM 125cc 1:49.500 + 1.510 14
16. Stevie Bonsey Degraaf Grand Prix 1:49.559 + 1.569 12
17. Dominique Aegerter Ajo Motorsport 1:49.690 + 1.700 14
18. Pol Espargaro Belson Derbi 1:49.720 + 1.730 13
19. Scott Redding Blusens Aprilia Junior 1:49.746 + 1.756 14
20. Lorenzo Zanetti ISPA KTM Aran 1:49.763 + 1.773 14
21. Danny Webb Degraaf Grand Prix 1:49.978 + 1.988 12
22. Bradley Smith Polaris World 1:50.169 + 2.179 13
23. Stefan Bradl Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing 1:50.403 + 2.413 11
24. Roberto Lacalendola Matteoni Racing 1:50.539 + 2.549 14
25. Jules Cluzel Loncin Racing 1:50.841 + 2.851 13
26. Pere Tutusaus Bancaja Aspar Team 1:50.873 + 2.883 15
27. Stefano Bianco S3+ WTR San Marino Team 1:50.986 + 2.996 11
28. Hugo Van Den Berg Degraaf Grand Prix 1:50.993 + 3.003 15
29. Takaaki Nakagami I.C. Team 1:51.101 + 3.111 13
30. Marc Marquez Repsol KTM 125cc 1:51.330 + 3.340 14
31. Dino Lombardi BQR Blusens 1:51.835 + 3.845 13
32. Robert Muresan Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing 1:52.225 + 4.235 12
33. Axel Pons Jack & Jones WRB 1:53.011 + 5.021 14
34. Cyril Carrillo FFM Honda GP 125 1:53.929 + 5.939 11
35. Ivan Maestro Hune Matteoni 1:55.011 + 7.021 13
36. Karel Pesek Czech Road Racing JNR. 1:55.453 + 7.463 15
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