125cc free practice 3: Di Meglio makes it three from three

World Championship leader Mike Di Meglio has continued to lead the way in the 125cc category at Phillip Island, recording the fastest time in the second practice session at the 2008 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Saturday morning.

Di Meglio was in control for much of the dry 45-minute session, taking top spot after 12 minutes and continually lowering his times throughout. The Frenchman has now led all three sessions here this weekend. The 20-year-old, who has a 36-point lead in the 125cc title race, can secure the championship this weekend if he wins Sunday’s 23-lap race and nearest title rival, Italian Simone Corsi, finishes no better than sixth.

Bradley Smith was just 0.023 seconds behind Di Meglio for second in the session on an Aprilia, while the top five was rounded out by German Stefan Bradl, Italian Sandro Cortese and Spain’s Nicolas Terol, all riding Aprilia machinery.

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Italian Andrea Iannone, a Grand Prix winner this year in China, jumped to P1 after 10 minutes with a lap of 1:39.594, nearly a second quicker than his best lap in the dry yesterday. Di Meglio then bumped Iannone from top spot with a lap 0.911secs quicker, becoming the first man to enter the 1:38 bracket with a lap of 1:38.693, two-tenths of a second slower than his best time on Friday morning.

Di Meglio lowered the time to beat to 1:38.549 after 18 minutes. Corsi then dropped his Aprilia after 25 minutes; the Italian, second in the Championship, was running 11th in the session when he fell on his 14th lap. He finished the session in a lowly 17th position.

Cortese bumped Di Meglio from top spot at the 32-minute mark with a 1:38.244, half a second quicker than his best time in the dry on Friday; the Italian was ninth in first qualifying on his Aprilia yesterday. Di Meglio then became the first man to break into the 1:37 bracket this weekend on his next lap, a time of 1:37.937 marginally better than Mattia Pasini’s 125cc pole-winning lap of 1:38.078 here last year.

Di Meglio, who has never finished better than eighth on five previous visits to the Island, then stamped his authority on the class with a session-best lap of 1:37.820 with 90 seconds remaining.

Melbourne 18-year-old Jed Metcher was the best-placed of the five Aussie wildcards in 33rd position.

Dutchman Hugo Van Den Berg, 10th in Friday’s first qualifying session for the 125cc category, was the first man to crash in the session, the Aprilia rider falling on just his second lap. Aussie wildcard Jake Horne, Esteve Rabat of Spain on a KTM and Michael Ranseder of Austria on an Aprilia were others to fall in the session.