FIM Moto2 World Championship Assen, Netherlands June 24 Qualifying Results (dry-to-wet conditions, all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 1:39.305 2. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 1:39.600 3. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 1:39.700 4. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:39.844 5. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 1:39.890 6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:39.962 7. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (SUTER), 1:40.123 8. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:40.149 9. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), 1:40.234 10. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), 1:40.238 11. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), 1:40.469 12. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), 1:40.550 13. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:40.647 14. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 1:40.726 15. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:40.744 16. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), 1:40.804 17. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 1:40.925 18. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), 1:40.985 19. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), 1:41.036 20. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:41.068 21. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:41.211 22. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 1:41.364 23. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:41.536 24. Javier FORES, Spain (SUTER), 1:41.564 25. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), 1:41.642 26. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), 1:41.732 27. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (FTR), 1:41.739 28. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (SUTER), 1:41.908 29. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:41.931 30. Kev COGHLAN, Great Britain (FTR), 1:42.077 31. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:42.160 32. Carmelo MORALES, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:42.308 33. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (TEN KATE), 1:42.565 34. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:42.682 35. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), 1:42.908 36. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:43.200 37. Steven ODENDAAL, South Africa (SUTER), 1:44.240 38. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 1:44.282 Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:46.256 39. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:53.043* 40. Elena ROSELL, Spain (SUTER), no time recorded * Have qualified for the race having achieved a time within 107% of the fastest rider in a free practice session. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Best Qualifying result for Xavier Siméon starting 14th on the grid Xavier Siméon will start tomorrow’s TT Assen, which traditionally takes place on a Saturday, from 5th row on the grid after he qualified in 14th position today. This is his best Qualifying result of the first full season in the Moto2 world championship 2011. Although Siméon is delighted about his result he is gutted he could not have more practice time in the dry today. Once again heavy rain showers interrupted the session and he could not improve his best lap time. The Youngster from Belgium hopes he can have a strong start and good race result tomorrow and says it does no matter if it will be a dry or a wet race. Xavier Siméon, 14th – 1’40.726: “I had a good start into the Qualifying today, but I was not where I wanted to be. When I was told from my pit board I should enter the pit lane I thought, ‘No, I can be faster than this now’, and I decided to go for another lap and set my fastest lap time. I was more concentrated than before in this lap and could improve my time. I would have liked to have more dry practice time to see what I could do more, as I know I could have been better. But also 14th starting position is my best Qualifying result this season so far, so it was not bad. More important is the result of tomorrow though. We have to keep that concentration and make a good race. The weather is so unpredictable that you never really know what is going to happen. I had only two laps in yesterday’s only session before I crashed out, so I will see what happens tomorrow. I am fine with a dry or wet race though.” More, from another press release issued by Tech 3: Tech 3 Racing ready for top ten challenge Tech 3 Racing Moto2 riders Bradley Smith and Mike di Meglio are confident they can race for a top ten finish in tomorrow’s Iveco TT Assen at the historic Circuit van Drenthe in Holland. The seventh round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship has thrown up a difficult challenge for Smith and di Meglio, with the Moto2 field only having one full dry session so far. Yesterday morning’s session was run in wet conditions and an oil spillage forced the cancellation of second practice, hindering Smith and di Meglio’s preparations for the 24-lap race. Sixth quickest in the solitary dry session this morning, Smit h will start from 10th position on the grid as typically fast changing weather conditions struck the Assen track again during this afternoon’s qualifying session. Smith, who scored a stunning maiden podium in his home race at Silverstone just 13 days ago, had set a lap of 1.40.238 when rain started to fall at the halfway stage, preventing anybody from bettering their times in the final 25 minutes. Frenchman di Meglio will start just two places behind Smith. He posted a best time of 1.40.550 in the eight laps he managed before the rain fell and he’s confident his Mistral 610 machine has a competitive set-up for wet or dry conditions tomorrow. Bradley Smith: 10th 1.40.238 8 laps: “It certainly hasn’t been the smoothest weekend so far with all the disruptions and rain , but I’m happy to be inside the top ten and confident of a strong race. We made quite a big change to the set-up after I was sixth in the dry this morning and in some areas it was positive. I knew we could improve our pace and get more confident with the bike but then the rain came and that was a shame because I think we could have been a bit higher up the grid. I’ve got my fingers crossed for a dry race, but we have to be ready for both conditions. Starting from the fourth row is a lot better than Silverstone, so if I can have a similar race tomorrow then I’ll be really happy.” Mike di Meglio: 12th 1.40.550 8 laps: “We finished in a decent position just outside the top ten, so I am happy. I was immediately much faster this afternoon compared to this morning and we made big step with the bike, but unfortunately the rain started and we had no chance to make further improv ements. Yesterday was not so bad in the rain and today it was not so bad in the dry, so we are good for both conditions and I am happy with the set-up. We just need to see what happens tomorrow with the weather because we know Assen can be really unpredictable.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of The Netherlands, qualifying Qualifying for the Dutch GP leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for the JiR Team, as a technical problem emerged at the very beginning of the qualifying session and prevented Alex De Angelis from having a full-power MotoBI machine. The result at the end of the session was a best lap of 1’41.364s, which means the 22nd position on the grid. This half-way position on the grid sadly does not take into account the better times recorded in other sessions and will oblige the San Marino rider to make an aggressive start. The problem, which relates to the electronics in the gear-shift, has already been investigated by engineers who are working to restore the competitiveness of the machine for the warm-up tomorrow. Alex DeAngelis Unfortunately, the qualifying session relegates me to a 22nd place that does not do justice to the work done, as in both practice sessions we have proven to be able to do much better times than this afternoon. Unfortunately just before the qualifying session we discovered a malfunction in the electronics of the gear-shift. Once we analyzed the situation with the engineers, we estimated that the repair would have taken too long and I would have not even been able to get on track within the time so we preferred to take the circuit and do the best we could with a not 100% performing machine. I am very sorry because this performance is certainly not indicative of the good shape that we have, and from the middle of the grid the start is key, however, for tomorrow we will have completely solved the technical issue so I will not give up and I am confident I can make a good race. More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: REDDING AND KALLIO CONFIDENT FOR ASSEN BATTLE Marc VDS Racing Team riders Scott Redding and Mika Kallio battled constantly changing conditions to qualify in eighth and 16th positions respectively at the end of a challenging day at the world famous Circuit van Drenthe in Assen. After yesterday’s Moto2 schedule was disrupted by torrential rain and an oil spillage that forced the cancellation of the second practice session, British rider Redding capitalised on vastly improved conditions this morning to post the second quickest time on a fully dry track. Confident further tweaks to his Suter MMXI machine would help him compete for a second row grid start for tomorrow’s 24-lap race, Redding was building up his speed in this afternoon’s qualifying session when a heavy downpour fell at the halfway stage. Although conditions improved with the rain easing off, the track never dried sufficiently for Redding to improve on his best time of 1.40.149, which secured him eighth place on the grid, less than 0.2s away from the top six. The ultra-competitive Moto2 field has had to contend with the worst of the elements this weekend, with Finnish rider Kallio unfortunate that the rain interrupted his quest to qualify inside the top 10. Aware that rain was imminent as dark clouds gathered above the historic Assen TT circuit, Kallio was pushing to post a competitive time in the early stages when a small mistake on the brakes for Turn 13 left him with a best lap of 1.40.804. Scott Redding #45 – 1.40.149 – 13 laps – 8th position “With the rain coming again we basically only had a 15-minute qualifying session, so I’m pretty pleased to have secured eighth. We knew the rain was coming, so I went out and pushed hard immediately on the soft tyre to make sure I got a decent time in. I came in for another set of tyres and I was on a pretty quick lap when I came into Turn 13 and the rear came round really quickly and I thought I was going to crash. I managed to save it and went back to the pits but then the rain came. It was a good day though because I was really fast in the dry this morning and I’m confident I can get a top five finish if it is a dry race. In the wet it hasn’t been fantastic because I’ve not been able to get a good feeling. I don’t have a lot of confidence with the bike in the wet, but we’ve got some ideas to improve because this track isn’t anywhere near as grippy as Silverstone.” Mika Kallio #36 – 1.40.804 – 13 laps – 16th position “It has been a really strange weekend with the weather and we’ve only had one dry session. I’m not completely happy at the moment because I feel I should be starting from inside the top ten. On my fastest lap I closed the front at Turn 13 and I ran wide and that cost me a lot of time. In the first two sections I was really fast and I was quite close to the front guys but the mistake cost me too much. I’d just changed to a new set of tyres when it started to rain. But in the wet I am more competitive than in the dry and that was the same at Silverstone. I’m closer to the front in the rain but we will have to and see what the conditions will be like. I’m hoping it will be dry because we saw in Silverstone when it rains, there’s a lot of crashes in Moto2 and the spray can make visibility difficult in the early laps.” Pete Benson – Scott Redding Crew Chief “We definitely drew the short straw with the weather this week. In the dry this morning Scott was really happy and that showed with second position. He was happy with the set-up of the bike, but credit to (Stefan) Bradl because he was in a league of his own again. Scott feels pretty comfortable in the dry but in the wet we’ve still got a bit of work to do to make him more confident. If it rains it won’t be a disaster but we could find it hard to match Bradl’s pace in the race. Scott hasn’t been able to get the same confidence with the bike in the rain that he had at Silverstone. A lot of Silverstone is very grippy in the wet but here Scott doesn’t have the same feeling. We had something to try at the end of qualifying but it wasn’t really wet enough, so with a bit more feeling in the rain I’m sure he’ll be competitive.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Moto2 Team: Tricky weather makes qualifying difficult for QMMF Racing Team: Cardús 31nd, Al Naimi 38th Unpredictable weather conditions with a dry start, followed by abrupt rain showers, made qualifying for the Dutch TT at Assen a difficult task for the QMMF Racing Team. Spanish QMMF rider Ricky Cardús, who never raced at Assen before, suffered more than most other riders from the lack of dry track time and had to settle for 31st place on the grid, but hopes to be much faster when it counts in the race on saturday. Team-mate Mashel Al Naimi also had some problems with the ever-changing weather conditions, as he continued to struggle with the set-up for his Moriwaki Moto2 protoype. The Qatari rider now hopes for dry conditions on race day as a preparation for the next highspeed-venue at Mugello next week. “It was a strange and difficult weekend so far, with those ever-changing weather conditions”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “Ricky could not do a good lap time, as it always started to rain when he tried to push. But with a good start in the race, I’m sure he will improve a lot from his 31nd place on the grid. The same goes for Mashel, who qualified in 38th place and also had problems to put a quick lap in.” Mashel Al Naimi – 38th in 1.44,282: “žFor me it was difficult to find a good base setting as the weather was changing a lot. I couldn’t find a suitable set-up, neither for the dry nor for the rain. The ever-changing conditions were a real problem for me. I always had a lot of movement in the bike, I didn’t feel good in any of the weather conditions. I always was close to crashing. I hope that I can find a good set-up during the warm-up and then I will give my best to make a decent result for me and the QMMF Racing Team. I hope it stays dry tomorrow, because this would also help me to prepare for the race at Mugello where we hopefully will have some sunshine and a dry track!” More, from a press release issued by Kenny Noyes’ publicist: Kenny Noyes Continues Rebuilding Confidence In Assen Qualifying After making a big step forward in the wet on Thursday, Kenny Noyes and his Avintia-STX team reverted to smaller steps towards rebuilding the American’s confidence at Assen. The changes made to Kenny’s FOGI-Racing FTR prior to the classic Dutch race gave the American a major boost, but now, he faces the hard grind of putting in the laps and gathering the data so that he and his Avintia-STX team can work on refining their setup. The weather conditions at Assen have done their best to foil the team’s work. Both the extended morning session and the afternoon qualifying practice taking place under mixed conditions, with rain falling intermittently throughout the sessions. That leaves Kenny starting from the 9th row of the grid, further back than he had hoped, but still confident the team is working in the right direction. Now they have a base setup to use as a starting point, the team is sure that results will come as Kenny’s confidence builds. Kenny Noyes 26th, Fastest Lap: 1’41.732 Kenny said, “We went pretty good in the wet yesterday, and I’m much more comfortable on the bike. We have a bunch more work to do in the dry, and it was a little frustrating to have these half-wet, half-dry conditions thrown at us. But there ain’t much you can do about the weather except go out and ride.” “Though I can’t be real happy about the spot we’re in on the grid, I’m real happy about the work we’ve done so far. I’m enjoying riding again, and that’s really helping my confidence. We still have a ton of work left to do, and what I really need is just to get a lot more laps on the bike. We’ll see what we can do in warm up, and then push hard in the race and see what we can learn.” More, from a press release issued by Italtrans Moto2 Team: Rain was awaited not before night on the contrary, it began to pour down around midday, messing up the scheduled work. Nevertheless, the squad set important steps ahead, and Italtrans Team are upbeat about tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Claudio Corti (1’40″744 – 15th ) “Very well. And, at the same time, what a pity. We did a great job in the last two days, and it is not by chance that we have been inside the top ten this morning. In qualifying, in the afternoon, I went out at first with used tires to verify the efficiency of the modified set-up. Our idea was to come in later and change to new tires, searching for a fast lap. When we did it, rain began to fall, and no more chances of fast laps. Anyhow, I’m satisfied: in the previous GPs brushing a 15th position was a hard job. Today, we got it easily, and appears even not rewarding at all. The key factor for the race will be the start: if I get a good one, I’m certain I can fight for a position inside the top ten”. Robertino Pietri (1’43″200 – 36th) “It didn’t work as we wanted. In qualifying, the first scheduled step was to go out to test something new, but it was not efficient as desired. So I went in to change again, and when I was ready for a second run it began to rain. I had lost the right moment. We still have a few ideas for tomorrow, and we’re going to test them in the warm-up. I hope it is not going to rain, otherwise our working range will be limited”. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director) “Claudio’s bike is well set-up and he has a good pace. I agree with him a good start will be essential. As far as Robertino is concerned, this evening we are going to decide what is the best option, and we’ll test during the warm-up”. Luigi Pansera (Team Manager) “I see our riders fighting and focused. This is what we want. Also the bike is competitive. Claudio could give the team a present. And to give himself a present as well the race in on his birthday. I also saw a good signal of improvement from Robertino in the morning practice”.