After claiming second place on two occasions thus far in 2008, Hector Barbera finally secured an elusive pole position for the 250cc Gran Premio d´Italia Alice.

Team Toth Aprilia´s Spanish star recorded an amazing late lap of 1´52.675, to beat nearest rival Alvaro Bautista by nearly eight-tenths of a second.

Barbera´s fourth pole of his 250cc tenure came during another dry session for the quarter litre class riders, benefitting from the immediate adaptability of his Aprilia machinery. Chasing his second victory in the class, he will undoubtedly face stiff competition from last year´s race winner Bautista.

Local rider Marco Simoncelli once again had a positive qualifying run, seemingly inseparable from Bautista this season. The Metis Gilera rider is on the front row for the second consecutive race, the first line completed by World Championship leader Mika Kallio.

Lukas Pesek, Manuel Poggiali, Alex Debon and Thomas Luthi make up the second row consisting of all-Italian manufacturers. Luthi and Poggiali both experienced crashes in the session, a fate that twice befell Polaris World´s Mattia Pasini at the beginning and end of the session.

© DORNA / CAPSIS International