FIM Moto2 World Championship
Sachsenring, Germany
July 13, 2014
Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 29 laps, 41:12.461
2. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), -0.091 second
3. Simone CORSI, Italy (KALEX), -10.514 seconds
4. Esteve “Tito” RABAT, Spain (KALEX), -10.666
5. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (KALEX), -11.418
6. Franco MORBIDELLI, Italy (KALEX), -14.100
7. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), -21.883
8. Mattia PASINI, Italy (KALEX), -21.976
9. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), -22.049
10. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (SUTER), -26.510
11. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (TECH 3), -26.666
12. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (TECH 3), -33.044
13. Louis ROSSI, France (KALEX), -33.420
14. Luis SALOM, Spain (KALEX), -37.193
15. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), -37.827
16. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), -38.111
17. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), -39.972
18. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (KALEX), -42.604
19. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), -43.646
20. Sam LOWES, UK (SPEED UP), -46.032
21. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), -48.475
22. Tetsuta NAGASHIMA, Japan (TSR), -52.832
23. Roman RAMOS, Spain (SPEED UP), -63.277
24. Robin MULHAUSER, Switzerland (SUTER), -63.434
25. Gino REA, UK (SUTER), -75.320
26. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (KALEX), -1 lap
27. Nina PRINZ, Germany (SPEED UP), -1 lap
28. Azlan SHAH, Malaysia (KALEX), -2 laps, crash
29. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SUTER), -7 laps, DNF, crash
30. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), -7 laps, DNF, retired
31. Johann ZARCO, France (CATERHAM SUTER), -15 laps, DNF, crash
32. Josh HERRIN, USA (CATERHAM SUTER), -17 laps, DNF, retired
33. Jonas FOLGER, Germany (KALEX), -21 laps, DNF, retired
34. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI, Italy (SUTER), -23 laps, DNF, crash
35. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), -25 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 9 of 18 races):
1. Rabat, 170 points
2. Kallio, 151
3. Vinales, 120
4. Aegerter, 96
5. Corsi, 85
6. Luthi, 68
7. Salom, 62
8. West, 58
9. Folger, 47
10. Zarco, 46
More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:
Disappointing End for AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing at Sachsenring
Circuit: Sachsenring
Circuit Length: 3.671 m
Race Length: 29 laps
Weather
Race: Dry; (air temp) 22°, (track temp) 32°
The Sachsenring Grand Prix saw a disappointing end for AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing with a double DNF concluding the first half of the season for the all new Moto2 Team.
Following a positive morning Warm Up Johann Zarco made a strong race start as the lights turned green. Pushing hard to close upon the leading pack the Frenchman lost control of the #5 Caterham Suter crashing out of the German GP.
Meanwhile teammate Josh Herrin struggled with his hand injury caused from a crash in FP3 the previous morning. Feeling unable to continue and concerned with safety he returned to the box prematurely ending his race.
#5 Johann Zarco: DNF
“In morning Warm Up the temperature was cooler and my feeling on the bike was much better, which allowed me to be fast and in a top position with good pace.
“I really thought that it was possible to do well today and maintain the pace throughout the race but the bike was sliding too much. We didn’t change anything on it from the morning session; the only difference was the track temperature. I struggled to follow the others and I tried many times to stay with them but finally I crashed. I am very disappointed.
“I will train as well as possible this summer because I have a good pace at the moment as a rider and in the second half of the season we will be on more tracks that I like. I hope I will be on the podium for these Grand Prix’s. It’s very difficult but I now need to accept what happened today and keep working as I know we will have the result.”
#2 Josh Herrin: DNF
“I was having second thoughts starting the race just because of my wrist. Not so much because of the pain but because I had no feeling in my hand. It wasn’t possible to hold onto the bar really. I was making way too many big mistakes that could have ended really badly, but luckily I managed to save them. I was just worried that by staying out there it was too dangerous. There were no points to be made fighting at the back and from a safety point of view it just wasn’t worth the risk.
“It is definitely a weekend not to remember so I’m looking forward to my home race at Indy where hopefully we can turn this season around.”
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager:
“It’s not been a good race for us at all today with both riders out of the GP.
“First of all Josh stopped his race, which was very disappointing. He needs to get his hand checked out thoroughly to see if there is something wrong there. After his crash yesterday he has an injury which really affected him today.
“Johann had a very good pace from the start this morning so we had high hopes for the race. He said that the grip level was not as good as it was in Warm Up and he was struggling to stay on the bike. The tyre he used for the race was from yesterday’s Qualifying which we knew worked, so at this time we are unsure about what exactly happened. As he crashed the bike caught on fire and was very badly damaged.
“We cannot continue like this. We must be stronger in the races because we are losing out a lot and this is something that we have to work on. Now there is a break in the season so we need to use this time to refocus and come back strong for Indy. We have to work hard and get up to speed in the races so that we can fight for a podium, as this is what we are here for, to challenge for the top results.”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Great podium finish for Simone Corsi at Sachsenring
It was a very positive race weekend for the NGM Forward Racing Team with a great performance for Simone Corsi, who secured his second podium finish of the season, and an incredible recovery for Mattia Pasini, from 18th to a final 8th position.
Started from the second row, Simone Corsi lost some positions in the first laps, but he then recovered and started a hard battle with Rabat, Vinales and Morbidelli for the third position. At the very last corner of the last lap, finally Corsi overtook Rabat conquering the podium, behind Kallio and Aegerter. With this result, Corsi confirms his 5th position in the Championship with 85 points.
It was a positive day also for Mattia Pasini, who was taking the start of the German GP from the 18th position on the grid. Thanks to the final work done in the warm up, Mattia had a good feeling with his machine and he could push recovering several position, finishing 8th.
The German GP, ninth round on the calendar, closes this first part of the season with the two NGM Forward riders in the Top10. Next appointment is at Indianapolis in 3 weeks.
Simone Corsi
“I’m very happy with this result. It was a great race. Our target was the podium and we made it. The battle for the 3rd position was very hard but in the last lap I gave all my best and it was a great satisfaction to go on the podium for the second time this year. I didn’t do a great start and I lost the contact with the front guys so I had to recover lap after lap. Now it’s time to go on holidays. See you all in Indy. It’s a track that I really like and I look forward to a strong second part of the season”.
Mattia Pasini
“I’m satisfied with my performance. The weekend was compromised by 2 crashes, one on Friday and the second on Saturday, but in the race I had the right feeling with the bike and I could push. In the warm up, in fact, we changed something in the front and I was more comfortable. I struggled a bit at the beginning losing the contact with Simone, but all in all it was a good race. Now I look forward to some holidays and recharge battery to arrive stronger in Indianapolis“.
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Podium for Kallio as his championship challenge gathers pace
Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany – 13 July 2014: Mika Kallio took a hard fought second place in today’s German Moto2 Grand Prix, after a titanic, race long battle with eventual winner, Dominique Aegerter.
The result saw the Finn close to within 19 points of Marc VDS teammate and World Championship leader, Tito Rabat, who finished fourth at the Sachsenring today.
It was pole sitter Aegerter who made the early running, but Kallio forced his way into the lead on the second lap and immediately tried to gap the field. However, he was unable to shake off the Swiss rider, who eventually made his own move for the lead on lap 26. Kallio responded immediately to head the race once again, but he had no answer when Aegerter came past on the final lap and was forced to settle for second place.
Rabat lost ground in the first three turns on the opening lap and by the time he’d fought his way through to lead the group disputing third place, the gap to Kallio and Aegerter was too big to bridge. The 25-year-old Spaniard looked all set to join his teammate on the podium, but a mistake in the final corner allowed Simone Corsi to claim third place at the chequered flag.
Livio Loi had a day to forget at the Sachsenring. At the start the 17-year-old Belgian was forced off track in turn one as a result of someone else’s crash and, after re-joining the race, was eventually forced to retire when his engine expired.
Mika Kallio // 2nd
“It’s always frustrating to finish a close second, but it was doubly disappointing today because we went into the race knowing that it was ours to lose. Once I got past Aegerter on the second lap I put my head down and tried to pull a gap, but he was glued to my back wheel for almost the whole race. With four laps to go he went past me, but our lap time increased immediately so, rather than wait until the last lap, I decided to go early and retake the lead. On the final lap he got a really good drive out of T11 and there was nothing I could do to stop him coming under me at the bottom of the hill. I tried again in the last corner, but there was no way through. We’ve closed the gap to Tito in the championship standings, which is a good way to go into the summer break, but I think this has only been a warm up. I suspect the real championship battle will only get properly underway when we return to racing at Indianapolis.”
Tito Rabat // 4th
“This weekend we’ve had a lot of problems at a race track that is certainly not my favourite. But after all the hard work we’ve done this weekend, fourth place is a little disappointing, especially as a podium finish was possible until the very last corner. Corsi passed me on the final lap and I was looking to retake third in the final corner, but I made a mistake, went in a bit too hot and ran wide. At the end, we go into the break leading the championship by 19 points. We have some work to do now before we head to Indianapolis to start the second half of the season.”
Livio Loi // DNF
“This is not the way I wanted to end the first half of the season. I was unlucky at the start; a rider crashed in front of me and I had nowhere else to go but the gravel trap. I had to actually get off the bike and push it back to the track to re-join the race, which obviously lost me a lot of time. Straight away there was a problem with the engine; the bike was revving but the power just wasn’t there. Again, I decided to continue, but kept my hand ready on the clutch just in case the engine seized. Coming out of T11 and down the hill the engine lost all power and I could only freewheel down to T12 and retire. Obviously I’m disappointed, but luck was not on my side today.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“I know Mika is disappointed to have finished second today, but he should take consolation in the fact that he rode a fantastic race. All season he’s struggled with the harder rear tyres but through sheer hard work by him and his crew, he turned a disadvantage into an advantage this weekend. The consistency of his lap times when he was leading the race was incredible and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a rider post two consecutive race laps with an identical lap time. Tito has struggled a little this weekend, at a track that hasn’t been kind to him in the past, so to finish fourth today was a good result, although I know he’s kicking himself for missing out on the podium by such a narrow margin. Both riders need to use the summer break to recharge their batteries, as I suspect they’re going to be fighting tooth and nail for the championship in the second half of the season. Livio had no luck today. He was pushed off track at the start as a result of someone else’s crash and then, after re-joining the race, was forced to retire with his first mechanical problem of the year. Not a great way to end the first half of the season, especially as both issues were unavoidable.”