125: Marquez takes debut pole at drying Le Mans.

Marc Marquez has taken pole position for the 125cc French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The 40-minute session took place on a wet - but steadily drying - track, prompting countless spills as riders tested the ever-changing grip levels.

The fastest lap times thus came at the very end of the session, by which time a dry line was visible - prompting the leading riders to make a late switch to slicks.

KTM rider Marquez took over provisional pole for the final time with two minutes to go and initially defended the position by dropping his lap time by over one second on his next lap.

However, with the chequered flag waving, Marquez and Scott Redding were nose-to-tail on track and both lapping under pole pace.

As they crossed the line, Marquez was able to outpace Redding's Blusen's Aprilia by just 0.093sec for his first ever grand prix pole position.

Championship leader Andrea Iannone, fastest in dry Friday practice for ISPA Aprilia, fell midway through the session and could only manage 23rd on the grid.

Jerez winner Bradley Smith, who will start Sunday's race one point behind Iannone, took a tumble in the early stages before claiming sixth position for Aspar Aprilia.

No less than twelve riders failed to lap within the required 107% of pole position.

Qualifying - Le Mans:

1. Marquez (KTM) 1min 47.080sec
2. Redding (Aprilia) +0.093sec
3. Terol (Aprilia) +0.703sec
4. Aegerter (Derbi) +0.915sec
5. Olive (Derbi) +1.005sec
6. Smith (Aprilia) +1.035sec
7. Simon (Aprilia) +1.254sec
8. Bradl (Aprilia) +1.428sec
9. Koyama (Loncin) +2.233sec
10. Webb (Aprilia) +2.359sec

DNQ Hoyle (Haojue) +14.377sec