FIM Moto2 World Championship
Valencia, Spain
November 8, 2014
Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.199
2. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:35.242
3. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), 1:35.420
4. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:35.532
5. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), 1:35.566
6. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), 1:35.630
7. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), 1:35.639
8. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.653
9. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 1:35.670
10. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.711
11. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:35.732
12. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.772
13. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 1:35.823
14. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), 1:35.830
15. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), 1:35.880
16. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 1:35.947
17. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), 1:36.036
18. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), 1:36.082
19. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:36.105
20. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), 1:36.214
21. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:36.254
22. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 1:36.263
23. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 1:36.345
24. Lucas MAHIAS, France (TRANSFIORMERS), 1:36.385
25. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:36.475
26. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:36.480
27. Florian MARINO, France (KALEX), 1:36.481
28. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (CATERHAM SUTER), 1:36.638
29. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 1:36.752
30. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:36.809
31. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), 1:36.923
32. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), 1:36.925
33. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), 1:37.152
34. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), 1:37.551
35. Tetsuta NAGASHIMA, Japan (NTS), 1:38.326
More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:
Zarco qualifies second for season finale at Valencia
Circuit: Comunitat Valenciana
Circuit Length: 4.005 km
Bike # 5 – Johann Zarco
FP3: P3; 1’35.399 – 19 laps
Qualifying: P2; 1’35.242 – 22 laps
Bike # 14 – Ratthapark Wilairot
FP3: P26; 1’36.449 – 18 laps
Qualifying: P28; 1’36.638 – 20 laps
Weather
FP3: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 18°, (track temp) 19°
Qualifying: (Conditions) Dry; (air temp) 19°, (track temp) 23°
AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing rider Johann Zarco will start the final Moto2 race of 2014 from second place, qualifying the Caterham Suter on the front row for the seventh time this season.
Having provisionally topped the timesheets in the final minutes of QP, the Frenchman just missed out on his second pole position, with only 0.043s separating him from P1 as qualifying came to an end.
Ratthapark Wilairot set his qualifying time in the initial stages of the session, but despite constantly lapping in the 1m36s times, was unable to further improve before the chequered flag came out.
The Thai rider will be aiming for a strong start as he lines up on row ten for tomorrow’s race.
#5 Johann Zarco: “We started qualifying badly because we tried something new and there was not a good feeling, so I was unable to be fast. Finally we came back to what we know well on the bike and it was better. We changed tyre and did a very good lap, almost pole position; we missed it but this isn’t a drama. The main thing is to be on the first row.
Since Friday our pace has looked good for victory, but I still need to work on it tomorrow and stay cool to fight for first place. It’s possible for this last race and I will try. I want to enjoy this last moment with the team and finish this season with the best result possible.”
#14 Ratthapark Wilairot: “At the start of qualifying I went not so bad. We made a 1m36s lap time immediately and I felt good. As the session went on I tried to improve but I couldn’t.
I was able to maintain constant laps, so I’m confident that I have a good race pace, but I’m very disappointed with my qualifying position; for this I must say sorry to my team.
“Tomorrow I must get a strong start like I did in Sepang, stay focused and hopefully we can finish the season with a good race.”
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “I think we have been pretty competitive with Johann all weekend. He did a great job from FP1 and has been working hard throughout all the sessions. We have been up there all the time and shown we have a strong pace. Johann is constantly in the 1m35s lap times, so regarding the race tomorrow I think it can be good. We know we have a good set up on the bike and the tyres work well. We had some issues in the beginning of qualifying where we tried something new and it didn’t work out, but we went back to this mornings settings which we knew worked. Once we did this Johann got into a rhythm and did well. We almost got pole, but missed out on it by just 0.043s, which is nothing here. We are happy with the front row start. It’s our seventh this year so its an amazing job again. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race to see what we can do
“Ratthapark has been going quite well over the weekend but the qualifying wasn’t good because he needed a little bit of help to go a few tenths quicker. It’s very close here so he’s not far off the top fifteen. Actually anything could happen in the race tomorrow. He’s starting quite far down the grid so the first two corners will be important, but we saw in Sepang he can be very strong at the start. We are not giving up, so lets see what we can do. I hope for a good race.”
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Rabat claims record pole at windswept Valencia
Valencia, Spain – 8 November 2014: Marc VDS Racing’s newly crowned Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat continued his remarkable record-breaking exploits in 2014 today with a stunning late qualifying attack that secured the Spaniard an 11th pole position of the season.
A blistering lap of 1.35.199, which smashed the Ricardo Tormo track record by almost 0.5s, saw Rabat break the pole position record for the intermediate class, which was previously held by Toni Mang and Jorge Lorenzo.
A gusting wind that battered the Ricardo Tormo track throughout the 45-minute session was unable to knock a confident Rabat out of his rhythm and a 13th career pole position was secured by just 0.043s over Johann Zarco.
Mika Kallio missed the front row of the grid for only the fourth time in 12 races, with the Finn unable to find a faster rhythm in the blustery conditions.
Kallio, who is celebrating his 32nd birthday today, will start his final race in Marc VDS Racing colours from ninth on the grid after setting a best pace of 1.35.670.
Jorge Navarro will start his home race from 18th on a day the Spaniard’s pace and potential was not reflected in his final grid position.
Navarro was an excellent ninth overall in practice, but a strong wind that picked up for the decisive qualifying session, meant lap times were slower this afternoon on the 2.517 miles track.
Tito Rabat // Pole Position // 1’35.199
“I am really happy to get pole position today because it was my 11th of the year and incredibly satisfying to know that is a new record. This weekend I have felt a lot less pressure with the World Championship already secure and I can just go out and enjoy riding the bike. I pushed at my maximum at the end of qualifying but it was so windy and the bike was sliding a lot, but I did enough to get pole position and now I can really enjoy tomorrow. Fighting for the win is the goal and that would be the perfect way to end a fantastic season for me personally and all at Marc VDS Racing.”
Mika Kallio // 9th // 1’35.670
“I can’t be satisfied to be ninth on the grid after finishing inside the top three and being very close to the front in practice. But the wind was really strong for qualifying and it was hard to find a good rhythm. It was also difficult to draw any conclusions from some of the set-up changes we made in those kind of conditions. I am still confident for the race and obviously the focus will be to secure second in the World Championship, which would be mission accomplished for Marc VDS Racing.”
Jorge Navarro // 18th // 1’40.097
“This morning I had a very good pace on old and new tyres and I was confident going into qualifying of challenging for the top 10. But the wind was much stronger for qualifying and I didn’t have the same good feeling with the bike. My lap time is not bad but the problem is Moto3 is so competitive that I only needed to be 0.2s faster and I was inside the top 10 instead of being down in 18th. I am not worried because I’ve had a good feeling with the bike for most of the weekend and the goal will be to finish inside the top 10.”
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
West keeps working on set-up – disappointment for Ramos
Anthony West will start the last race of the season from the 23rd spot on the grid. The 33-year-old Australian was able to repeat lap times in the low 1.36?s with high consistency, but wasn?t able to improve further. Whenever he tried to push himself and his bike to a new limit, he ended up struggling with the same mid-corner handling issues that he had noticed on the first day of practice at Valencia. In the warm-up session on Sunday morning, West and his crew will try another change to the set-up in order to be better prepared for the race.
Spaniard Roman Ramos, West’s partner in QMMF Racing Team, had a disappointing qualifying session in which he clearly missed out on his previous best time from the third free practice session on Saturday morning. Even though he is down in 33rd position on the starting grid, he will still try everything to put on a good show for the Spanish fans at his home Grand Prix.
Anthony West – 23rd in 1.36,345
“I can do this lap time quite often, but I am finding it difficult to go any faster than what I am now. The bike just won’t allow me to turn in the middle of the corner and I am having a lot of trouble with this. We improved the rear grip, which is good, but the bike is never in the right position in the corner to open the throttle and to make the best use of this additional rear grip. Everybody that I followed seemed to turn the bike faster and be able to get on the throttle earlier. Whenever I followed and tried the same, I ended up almost crashing. I can?t push any harder than this. We improved the feeling, there is less chattering and more grip. We might try something else for the warm-up to solve the remaining issues!”
Roman Ramos – 33rd in 1.37,152
“We started highly motivated today and things worked really well in the third free practice session, where I was half a second faster than in qualifying. For whatever reason, we didn’t succeed in qualifying and didn’t even come close to repeat the same lap time. We are not happy, also because we are quite far behind the guys I normally fight with. I don’t have high hopes for tomorrow, because I never found a good rhythm and it was a frustrating session altogether!”
More, from a press release issued by AGT Rea Racing:
Gino Rea’s appearance in the Valencia Grand Prix undecided
It was been a difficult season finale for Gino Rea after breaking his right foot at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang and having underwent subsequent surgery just over one week ago. Following medical examinations in Valencia, Gino was deemed fit to ride however exercised caution due to the extent of his injury. Two laps into Saturday’s qualifying Rea crashed and following the bike rebuild, was only able to put in a few laps towards the end of the session. With his recovery and post-season testing at stake, Gino’s decision to ride in the final grand prix of 2014 remains pending on Sunday morning. Gino explains his thoughts as he sits out morning warm up:
“My foot is still badly broke so it’s near impossible to use my right leg. The problem for me is not riding through the pain but making the separation of bones worse which will lead to a longer recovery time and less chance of testing in the next few weeks. I did the qualifying just to put myself on the grid. I wasn’t even pushing but I lost the front on my second lap and by the time the team rebuilt the bike, I only got a couple of laps in at the end. Now we are in a position where it’s not necessary to race in the dry because it will be very difficult to get a point scoring finish. The forecast gave rain and if it does, then I may go out and see what I can do because it’s a lot less physical in the wet. The decision is still unmade and we will decide what we’re doing half an hour before the race.”