It’s time to go racing for the Moto2 Teams. After watching from the sofa the Laguna Seca race which is reserved for only the MotoGP class, they have therefore had a long holiday. Now it’s Brno, for the Czech Republic GP at its traditional date in the middle of August. Gianluca Montiron’s Team and its rider Alex De Angelis are anxious to get back on track, full of enthusiasm after the podium at the last GP at Sachsenring and aware of the good results obtained by the MotoBI in Misano Adriatico tests on Friday. The progressive improvement of performance and of the machine/rider feeling recorded in the first half of the season gave some hints on the potential of the project, which now needs an additional step to be constantly in the leading group. Gianluca Montiron With renewed enthusiasm we start again from Brno after the last two good races from Alex. Each year is a story in itself, for our part we worked hard, the fact that our MotoBI proved to be the lightest bike between the three that got to the podium at the Sachsenring is indicative of how hard we worked. The use of the same engines for all, makes Moto2 a category with comparable performing motorcycles, the entry of young champions has certainly raised the competitive level. If that spirit should be that of a category ‘on a level’ and accessible to all it would be better to impose a weight limit of bike and the rider. Between the winner of the Sachsenring race and our rider we are at least 11 kg to the disadvantage, and this inevitably leads to a performance gap, not to mention that considering the same aerodynamic coefficient of the motorcycle the shape of the rider’s body has its relevance to the maximum speed. Establishing a combined weight of bike and rider is a crucial point if Moto2 is to be a training class for future MotoGP riders, where the power of machines make weight and body shape irrelevant. The Teams, including us, will increasingly need to invest in the right direction for the technical side of the equation as well as getting the right rider and seamless logistics. Alex De Angelis Finally we return to race, we go to Brno that is a familiar track for me and where I’m confident for a good response from my MotoBI. The Czech circuit is quite fast, with three straights and one of them is going uphill, so the motor performance will be pushed to the limit. This could be a limitation for us as lately we struggle a little in engine performance, but we worked hard on the set-up and tyre wear. My MotoBI gives good feedback, so I’m confident that we will fight well. We are following a trend of steady progress and we arrive from a good race in Germany that gave us a podium, this would seem to say that we are going the right way, but obviously we have a hunger for even better results and we must remain consistent for all remaining races. More, from a press release issued by AGR Racing/ItalTrans Moto2 Team: In 1992 the Czech and Slovak republics, formerly united in a single country, parted. The race held in Brno since 1965 and known as Grand Prix of Czechoslovakia didn’t take place and, in the following season, changed name. From 1993 on, it is called Grand Prix of Czech Republic and, for the first five season, as far as the middle class is concerned, it developed into an Italian stronghold. Five victories prized the Italians, that seemed to be on top of the situation in that strip of asphalt in the forest. In the following years Italians lost their grip, but not completely: in eighteen Grand Prix they collected eight victory no other nation can match it. Brno is a circuit that almost all riders love. It presents 8 right turns, 6 left, a main straight 636 meters long and a maximum slope of 7 per cent. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director): “It is a gorgeous track. It wants absolute precision. A rider must let the bike follow flowing lines aggression is not a value, here. From a technical point of view, a very accurate set-up is needed, looking for the prefect grip. I’m confident that the technical solution recently applied will continue to help us in improving our performances”. Luigi Pansera (Team Manager): “It has been an intricate season so far. We had to tackle complex issues, and face difficult choices. We recently saw signs that suggest we can leave them behind us, but it is of the utmost importance that we get a good result”. More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: BACK TO WORK FOR REDDING AND KALLIO AT BRNO The Marc VDS Racing Team return to racing this weekend, with Scott Redding and Mika Kallio determined to get the final part of the season off to a flying start, after spending time relaxing at home with family and friends during the three-week summer break. The race, at the classic and fast 5.4 km Brno circuit, is the tenth round of the Moto2 World Championship. It is also the first of a hectic schedule of races that will see seven events conducted in 12 weeks to close the season at Valencia on November 6. Following a one day test on the Suter MVDS MotoGP machine at Mugello, Kallio used the remainder of the summer break to spend time training and relaxing with his family at home in Finland. Redding, on the other hand, was unable to resist the opportunity to return to his roots and do some mini-bike racing. The Marc VDS rider managed to take overall victory with a second place and two wins last weekend in Wales, a performance he’d be happy to repeat on Sunday in the Czech Republic. Located 200 kilometres southeast of the Czech capitol, Prague, the current Brno circuit was constructed in 1987. Before that, Grand Prix races were held on a public roads circuit, with literally hundreds of thousands of Czech motorcycle racing fans turning out to watch from the roadside. While the crowd for this weekend is likely to somewhat smaller, the enthusiasm of the present day Czech race fans can be relied upon to easily match that of their predecessors from the 1970s. Scott Redding #45: “Coming through the field to take seventh at the Sachsenring was a good end to the first half of the season, but we definitely need to have a stronger second half, starting this weekend at Brno. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike and I’m going into this race with a fresh head, after spending time during the break cycling in Majorca. The Brno circuit is a bit like Mugello; very up and down with a lot of turns, so it can be quite demanding. We have a few things to try with the bike this weekend, so hopefully we’ll be on the pace from the start and able to fight at the front come Sunday.” Mika Kallio #36: “Apart from one day on the MotoGP bike at Mugello, I’ve managed to stay away from the bikes for the whole of the break, preferring instead to spend time relaxing with the family in Finland and doing some fishing. Now I head to Brno with my batteries fully recharged, ready to continue the progress we made at the Sachsenring. We had some bad luck in the race there, but in practice and qualifying we were where we should be and not too far behind the fastest guys. Brno is another of my favourite circuits, so I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead. If we can avoid the bad luck of the last few races then I’m confident we can secure a good result at Brno.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “It’s no secret that we didn’t achieve our goals during the first half of the season, which is why we need to start as we mean to go on in the second half with strong results from both Scott and Mika at Brno this weekend. It’s been a long break, but I know both riders have been training hard and I expect them and the team to return refreshed and ready for what is a pretty hectic schedule between now and the final round at Valencia.”