Brno MotoGP: British duo in 125GP practice top six

Bradley Smith and Danny Webb made a fast return to action in Brno today as both claimed a place in the top six at the end of the opening 125GP practice session.

Smith was second quickest as he tries to fire his title bid into life, the 19-year-old logging a best time of 2.08.517 that put him 0.507s behind Aspar Aprilia team-mate Nicolas Terol.

Spaniard Terol made a dazzling return to action in the Czech Republic having missed the previous race in Germany with serious back injuries suffered in a crash during his home race at Barcelona in early July.

Terol, who is currently third in the world championship classification, dominated the session and a best time of 2.08.010 saw him comfortably head the leaderboard.

Marc Marquez’s golden run of form came to an abrupt end this afternoon as he had to settle for third.

The Derbi rider, who has won a record five successive races to surge to the top of the championship standings, clocked a best time of 2.08.798.

That was a massive 0.788s behind Terol and Marquez suffered a heavy crash in the final seconds of the session as he looked to reduce the big gap.

Marquez had got closest to Terol during the session when he lapped within 0.014s of his compatriot.

Completing the provisional front row is Pol Espargaro. He was just 0.024s behind Marquez as he goes in search of his first victory since the third round of the season in Le Mans.

British teenager Webb had an eventful session but finished in a morale-boosting sixth place.

Webb, who is just seven points outside of the top ten in the standings, clocked a best time of 2.09.825.

He had earlier been involved in an incident where he nearly pulled off a spectacular save on his Aprilia machine.

Webb was thrown out of the seat in a right-hand corner, and as he slammed back down on top of his bike, he smashed the screen with his chest.

He desperately fought to regain control with Webb still holding onto his bike and trying to slow down as his feet dragged across the ground for several metres.

He eventually tumbled over at slow speed despite his heroic effort to stay upright.