De Meglio sparkles in opening 125 GP practice session
Tiddlers take to the track to kickstart the actionWorld championship leader Mike De Meglio has sent out an ominous warning to his rivals in the opening 125 GP practice session at the 2008 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
The French rider, aboard a Derbi, set the fastest lap in the 45-minute session, ahead of Aprilia quartet Sandro Cortese, Simone Corsi, Stefan Bradl and reigning world champion Gabor Talmacsi.
With three rounds remaining in this year’s championship, De Meglio is a 36pt leader over Corsi, and he could become world champion this Sunday if results go his way.
De Meglio only finished 17th in last year’s world title (and 14th at Phillip Island), but a switch from Honda to Derbi in the off-season has breathed new life into the French charger.
Australian has five wildcard riders in this weekend’s race – Blake Leigh-Smith, Brad Gross, Jed Metcher, Rhys Moller and Jake Horne. The quintet is all struggling with the perennial wildcard curse – a lack of horsepower – and qualifying will be a feat in itself.
Leigh-Smith was the fastest of the wildcards in practice ahead of the opening qualifying session this afternoon at 1:10pm.
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