The Tech 3 Racing Team celebrated its best Moto2 qualifying result of the 2011 World Championship today after Mike di Meglio stormed to a stunning front row at a wet and windy Phillip Island circuit.

Qualifying started on a dry track but as heavy clouds hovered ominously over the fast and technical Australian venue, light rain started to fall that made it impossible to continue on slick tyres.

The weather disruption continued for the majority of the session and it was only in the final minutes that the surface had dried sufficiently for the field to begin an exciting time attack.

French rider di Meglio quickly mastered the tricky conditions, with the c oastal circuit battered by a gusting and chilly wind this afternoon, to claim a brilliant second place on the grid for the 25-lap race.

He powered his Mistral 610 machine to a best time of 1.34.662 that left him just 0.088s away from a stunning pole position in the ultra-competitive Moto2 class.

Today's outstanding result was only the second time this season that di Meglio has qualified inside the top 10. And his Tech 3 Racing crew are now hoping he can mount a top six challenge on the track where he won the 2008 125cc World Championship.

British team-mate Bradley Smith will start tomorrow's race from just five places further back in seventh on the grid. The 20-year-old has been battling a heavy cold since he arrived in Australia but he didn't let that distract him on his way to recording a best lap of 1.34.867. That was only 0.293s away from pole position and just over 0.2s behin d di Meglio and he has high hopes that he can fight for a fourth rostrum of the season tomorrow.

Bradley Smith 7th 1.34.867 – 12 laps:

“This afternoon's qualifying was quite complicated with the weather and I am happy to have done the lap time I did because the conditions certainly weren't ideal. The wind was very unpredictable and even at the end you had a few rain spots on the visor, so it was quite tricky to push with a lot of confidence. It would have been nice to be on the second row instead of the third but I'll be looking to get a good start and be aggressive in the first few laps like always. Looking at the lap times it could be a close and exciting race at the front, and I'm looking forward to it a nd being right in the middle of the battle.”

Pictures are available at: http://www.flickr.com/phot os/12117702@N05/