Provisional 125GP front row for injured Danny Webb

British teenager Danny Webb shrugged off the pain of a badly damaged left little finger injury to claim a place on the provisional front row of the grid for Sunday’s Malaysia 125GP.

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The Aprilia rider, who seriously injured the left small finger in a big high-side crash at Phillip Island earlier this month, clocked a best time of 2.15.365 on his last lap of today’s opening qualifying session.

Webb has been told not to move the finger for six weeks after he underwent a 30-minute operation on the mangled digit in Melbourne. The injury forced him to miss the Australian GP and he is riding today with a splint on the finger to try and keep it straight.

He’s also using a modified glove to help.

His best time was only 0.159s behind 2007 world champion Gabor Talmacsi and 0.689s off provisional pole setter Andrea Iannone.

Webb said: “This is a real big boost for my confidence because I wasn’t sure how the hand would be. I’ve been told to keep the finger straight because I’ve got some tendon damage and too much movement could result in more permanent damage. But I felt good this morning when I was ninth although it was taking a bit of time to get used to riding with only three fingers working the clutch.”

Scott Redding got his first taste of Sepang’s notoriously baking hot conditions today as he finished 11th. Temperatures peaked at 37 degrees during the session and Redding clocked a best time of 2.16.272. Two places further back was 17-year-old Oxfordshire rider Bradley Smith in 13th. He clocked a best time of 2.16.397.

1  Andrea IANNONE   ITA  I.C. Team    Aprilia  2’14.676 
2  Gabor TALMACSI   HUN  Bancaja Aspar Team   Aprilia  2’15.206 
3  Danny WEBB   GBR  Degraaf Grand Prix   Aprilia  2’15.365 
4  Pol ESPARGARO   SPA  Belson Derbi    Derbi   2’15.676 
5  Sergio GADEA   SPA  Bancaja Aspar Team   Aprilia  2’15.684 
6  Joan OLIVE   SPA  Belson Derbi    Derbi   2’15.860 
7  7Tomoyoshi KOYAMA  JPN  Red Bull KTM 125   KTM   2’15.922 
8  2Simone CORSI   ITA  Jack & Jones WRB   Aprilia  2’16.001 
9  Mike DI MEGLIO   FRA  Ajo Motorsport    Derbi   2’16.030 
10  Stefan BRADL   GER  Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing  Aprilia  2’16.263 
11  Scott REDDING   GBR  Blusens Aprilia  Junior  Aprilia  2’16.272 
12  Nicolas TEROL   SPA  Jack & Jones WRB   Aprilia  2’16.314 
13  Bradley SMITH   GBR  Polaris World    Aprilia  2’16.397 
14  Alexis MASBOU   FRA  Loncin Racing    Loncin   2’16.517 
15  Stevie BONSEY   USA  Degraaf Grand Prix   Aprilia  2’16.557 
16  Efren VAZQUEZ   SPA  Blusens Aprilia Junior   Aprilia  2’16.586 
17  Pablo NIETO   SPA  Onde 2000 KTM    KTM   2’16.678 
18  Sandro CORTESE   GER  Emmi – Caffe Latte   Aprilia  2’16.731 
19  Raffaele DE ROSA  ITA  Onde 2000 KTM    KTM   2’16.849 
20  Lorenzo ZANETTI  ITA  ISPA KTM Aran    KTM   2’17.272 
21  Takaaki NAKAGAMI  JPN  I.C. Team    Aprilia  2’17.418 
22  Dominique AEGERTER  SWI  Ajo Motorsport    Derbi   2’17.622 
23  Jules CLUZEL   FRA  Loncin Racing    Loncin   2’18.296 
24  Marco RAVAIOLI   ITA  Matteoni Racing   Aprilia  2’18.303 
25  Esteve RABAT   SPA  Repsol KTM 125cc   KTM   2’18.334 
26  Cyril CARRILLO   FRA  FFM Honda GP 125   Honda   2’18.413 
27  Adrian MARTIN   SPA  Bancaja Aspar Team   Aprilia  2’18.655 
28  Robin LASSER   GER  Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing  Aprilia  2’19.002 
29  Jonas FOLGER   GER  Red Bull MotoGP Academy  KTM   2’19.576 
30  Hugo VAN DEN BERG  NED  Degraaf Grand Prix   Aprilia  2’19.612 
31  Robert MURESAN   ROU  Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing  Aprilia  2’19.688 
32  Randy KRUMMENACHER  SWI  Red Bull KTM 125   KTM   2’19.735 
33  Enrique JEREZ   SPA  ISPA KTM Aran    KTM   2’19.963 
34  Bastien CHESAUX  SWI  WTR San Marino Team   Aprilia  2’20.115 

Not classified
 93  Marc MARQUEZ  SPA  Repsol KTM 125cc   KTM