FIM Moto2 World Championship Circuit of The Americas Austin, Texas April 19, 2013 Free Practice Two Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Scott REDDING, UK (KALEX), 2:12.481 2. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (KALEX), 2:12.864 3. Johann ZARCO, France (SUTER), 2:12.906 4. Nicolas TEROL, Spain (SUTER), 2:12.925 5. Simone CORSI, Italy (SPEED UP), 2:13.093 6. Mika KALLIO, Finland (KALEX), 2:13.140 7. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (KALEX), 2:13.159 8. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (MOTOBI), 2:13.271 9. Esteve RABAT, Spain (KALEX), 2:13.288 10. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:13.292 11. Mattia PASINI, Italy (SPEED UP), 2:13.520 12. Anthony WEST, Australia (SPEED UP), 2:13.824 13. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 2:13.999 14. Julian SIMON, Spain (KALEX), 2:14.142 15. Toni ELIAS, Spain (KALEX), 2:14.212 16. Takaaki NAKAGAMI, Japan (KALEX), 2:14.366 17. Marcel SCHROTTER, Germany (KALEX), 2:14.708 18. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:14.762 19. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (SPEED UP), 2:14.891 20. Axel PONS, Spain (KALEX), 2:15.002 21. Sandro CORTESE, Germany (KALEX), 2:15.161 22. Kyle SMITH, UK (KALEX), 2:15.192 23. Alberto MONCAYO, Spain (SPEED UP), 2:15.648 24. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (SUTER), 2:15.687 25. Danny KENT, UK (TECH 3), 2:16.047 26. Louis ROSSI, France (TECH 3), 2:16.215 27. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:16.626 28. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (SPEED UP), 2:16.725 29. Steven ODENDAAL, South Africa (SPEED UP), 2:16.917 30. Doni Tata PRADITA, Indonesia (SUTER), 2:17.227 31. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 2:17.692 32. Rafid Topan SUCIPTO, Indonesia (SPEED UP), 2:18.182 More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: Austin, Texas – 19 April 2013: Marc VDS Racing Team rider Scott Redding made a stunning debut at the spectacular new Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas today, the British rider dominating practice to lead the 32-strong Moto2 field by almost four-tenths-of-a-second. Finnish teammate Mika Kallio also enjoyed a positive start to the Grand Prix of the Americas by lapping inside the top six on the long, technical and physically demanding COTA track. Cold and windy conditions for FP1 left Redding down in 23rd position, the 20-year-old adopting a risk free strategy on a slippery surface. Rather than pushing for an outright lap time he preferred to try and learn the COTA track, which features jaw-dropping undulation, including a climb of over 130ft from the grid to the first corner, and a super fast straight that’s the longest on the 17-race schedule. With improved grip levels and higher temperatures for the afternoon session, Redding’s patient approach paid off and he continued the form that took him to second in the season’s opening race in Qatar by powering his Kalex machine to best time of 2.12.481. That pace comfortably put him at the top of the timesheets by 0.383s. Redding was a massive 6.4s faster in FP2 while Kallio was close to five seconds faster as he too impressively adapted to the long and technical layout. A best lap of 2.13.140 rocketed him 12 places up the rankings while he assessed rear tyre performance and endurance ahead of Sunday’s 19-lap race. Scott Redding #45: 1st – 2’12.481 “I’m really happy to be fastest on the first day but I don’t think this track is actually as good to ride as it looks. I was a bit disappointed because a lot of it is taken in first gear but it is still good fun. This morning wasn’t great at all. I had no feeling and no grip and I wasn’t pushing at all and the front would tuck while braking straight up and down. You rarely get that even in the rain, so it shows how bad it was. It makes no sense to risk a silly crash in those conditions so I was just trying to learn the track. This afternoon the track was transformed. The grip wasn’t great but it was a lot better than FP1. At least this afternoon I could get in a good rhythm and the most important thing is being consistent and building on the momentum gained in Qatar. I was quickest by a decent margin and that’s a great way to start the weekend, so I’m happy and hoping it continues.” Mika Kallio #36: 6th – 2’13.140 “This is a really special track and with grip this afternoon it is really funny to ride. I think it is one of the most difficult tracks I have ever ridden on but great because it really challenges you to understand how to go fast. It is difficult to learn being so long and you can’t make many laps in a 45-minute session. The layout is incredible with a lot of undulation, fast changes of direction and hard braking and acceleration. This morning it was really difficult because there was zero grip and I struggled a lot. I didn’t think I was going to like the track but with higher temperatures in the afternoon it was a completely opposite feeling. I had a good feeling on the bike and the tyres were working really well with a lot more temperature compared to this morning. My pace is not too bad and this afternoon I was testing the rear tyre for the race. Both compounds are wearing very fast so we will need to think really carefully about tyre choice for the race.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “Today was a fantastic start for us because after this morning’s session I was a little worried. It was strange to see Scott outside of the top 20 and he said the conditions were so bad this morning it was worse than riding in the wet on slick tyres. I think Scott suffered more this morning because he is so aggressive. He is always late on the brakes but even the front tyre was sliding this morning on the brakes. But he stayed very calm and when the conditions were better he capitalised. With more grip available he really showed his full potential and it is good to be fastest to show he can be there and put some pressure on his rivals for the championship. Mika also did a great job to be in the top six and if we can continue the strong performance of today then it promises to be a very successful first visit to Texas for the Marc VDS Racing Team.” More, from a press release issued by Team QMMF: West on the pace in 12th position – Sucipto learns and improves QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West was immediately on the pace on the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas, clocking sixth fastest in the morning session and dropping back to 12th in the afternoon only due to a vibration issue after a tyre change. Since both handling and engine power of his Speed Up machine are good, the 31-year-old Australian hopes to score a strong result in the Moto2 race on Sunday. Young team-mate Rafid Topan Sucipto also improved his lap time from morning to the afternoon, but still needs more experience with his bike and in Moto2 racing in general before being able to fight for front positions. The 18-year-old Grand Prix rookie from Jakarta, Indonesia, was 27th in the first free practice but dropped back to 32nd when everybody else went faster in improving track conditions. Anthony West – 12th in 2.13,824 “The handling of the bike felt good at Qatar, so we decided to keep it the same here without trying anything different, which actually turned out quite well. It felt good in the first session and even though I had a lot of vibration all around the track in the second session after a front tyre change, I managed to improve my lap time in the afternoon. All in all, the bike feels good and I think we have a good pace. The circuit is lots of fun and definitely different to what we are used to. Every American road is dead straight and then they build a race track with some really strange corners! If you look at turn one from the main straight, it looks like a wall coming on, I have never seen something like that before. It’s amazing how quickly the bike stops there, but you have to be careful because the track flattens out on the top and you feel as if you are picking up speed again. From turn one, you just keep going left-right, left-right, left-right. You never go straight until you arrive at the back straight where you can finally have a rest. But the whole first part of the track is hard work and it’s hard to find a good line. My engine that gave us some trouble in the race of Qatar actually ran well today, so I hope everything will come together this time and we’ll have a good race!” Rafid Topan Sucipto – 32nd in 2.18,182 “This race track is very interesting but also very hard to learn. I’m struggling in the really slow corners but I also find it difficult to hit the right line through the section with all those quick direction changes. But nevertheless, we are improving steadily and I am sure I will be able to go faster again tomorrow!” More, from a press release issued by MAPFRE Aspar Moto2 Team: NICE TEROL KEEPS HIS AMERICAN DREAM GOING STRONG MAPFRE Aspar rider, three time Indianapolis 125cc winner, hits the ground running at COTA with good pace and fourth best time overall, whilst colleague Jordi Torres, ends up 13th Several riders complained of a lack of grip early on during Friday’s first free practices at COTA, with overnight temperaturas in Austin perhaps being one of the main factors slowing the riders down. Moto2 saw the biggest variation in front running times with several riders involved at the top with a real spread in best laps rather than the usual bunching within one second of the top group. The picture at the top of the timesheet is likely to continue to vary throughout the weekend. Although the Moto3 & MotoGP times improved from FP1 to FP2 it was in the Moto2 class that the biggest steps were taken in the afternoon outing – with a six second improvement made by some. Redding was fastest overall, but Terol and Zarco showed the most consistent pace. It seems like whenever Terol rides in the US he steps up a notch. His first career win came at Indy in 2008 in the 125cc class, with two more victories since achieved on American soil. Today at a completely new circuit the Spaniard was on the pace again and eventually finished fourth best, giving him confidence for the rest of the weekend. Jordi Torres was fourth in the morning run and was running towards the top for much of the day but a setting change saw him lost some rear end traction and he eventually finished 13th. He will aim for the top again tomorrow. 4th Nico Terol 2.12.925 (32 laps): “I’m very happy with this first day here at COTA. I think we’ve got a good pace and although it’s still early days, the circuit seems superb. America seems to be good for me and I’m feeling great again here. I love the technical aspects of this track and how demanding it is to ride. Tough braking, difficult corners, if you get it right it’s great to ride. We worked on improving grip and we’re going the right way but we still need to increase stability. In the afternoon we noticed something strange with the chain and we need to fix that tomorrow. In general I’m very happy, we’re going well and being at the front is giving me a real boost in confidence.” 13th Jordi Torres 2.13.999 (34 laps): “We took our time to find our way around in the morning and in the afternoon we continued on the same track, feeling good and riding near the top. We were amongst the top ten and improving the feeling. In the second session we tried a rear suspension change in order to try and improve grip but we ruined a rear tyre and we’re not sure if it was just a bad tyre or because of the setting. We’re looking into it with Dunlop. Apart from that little problem the feeling has been pretty good. We can’t sit still though because we know everyone will improve tomorrow and I think times could come down at least two more seconds for qualifying.”