FIM Moto2 World Championship Catalunya, Spain July 3, 2010 Final Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SPEED UP), 1:47.493 2. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (TECH 3), 1:47.760 3. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (MORIWAKI), 1:47.973 4. Toni ELIAS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:48.089 5. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:48.133 6. Carmelo MORALES, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:48.164 7. Shoya TOMIZAWA, Japan (SUTER), 1:48.192 8. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (BIMOTA), 1:48.224 9. Kenny NOYES, USA (PROMOHARRIS), 1:48.291 10. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (SUTER), 1:48.366 11. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), 1:48.373 12. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (FTR), 1:48.438 13. Simone CORSI, Italy (MOTOBI), 1:48.447 14. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:48.480 15. Hector FAUBEL, Spain (SUTER), 1:48.491 16. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:48.495 17. Fonsi NIETO, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:48.563 18. Sergio GADEA, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:48.571 19. Arne TODE, Germany (SUTER), 1:48.587 20. Alex DEBON, Spain (FTR), 1:48.613 21. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (SUTER), 1:48.620 22. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (TECH 3), 1:48.621 23. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (BQR-MOTO2), 1:48.640 24. Lukas PESEK, Czech Republic (MORIWAKI), 1:48.677 25. Jordi TORRES, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), 1:48.745 26. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (I.C.P.), 1:48.803 27. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (SUTER), 1:48.807 28. Dani RIVAS, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), 1:48.888 29. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:48.928 30. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (FORCE GP210), 1:48.942 31. Vladimir IVANOV, Ukraine (MORIWAKI), 1:49.036 32. Gabor TALMACSI, Hungary (SPEED UP), 1:49.047 33. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (FORCE GP210), 1:49.131 34. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (MORIWAKI), 1:49.169 35. Bernat MARTINEZ, Spain (BIMOTA), 1:49.188 36. Yusuke TESHIMA, Japan (MOTOBI), 1:49.209 37. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:49.272 38. Joan OLIVE, Spain (PROMOHARRIS), 1:49.314 39. Valentin DEBISE, France (ADV), 1:49.439 40. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (BQR-MOTO2), 1:49.723 41. Vladimir LEONOV, Russia (SUTER), 1:50.150 42. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:50.183 More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Hard work pays off for Tech 3 Racing Hard work and creative thinking from the Tech 3 Racing Moto2 Team paid off handsomely at a scorching hot Catalunya circuit this afternoon. The French squad worked late into the evening last night to prepare a new chassis for Yuki Takahashi and modifications to help with front-end feeling reaped immediate rewards during another fiercely contested qualifying session for the new Moto2 class. Takahashi was immediately able to benefit from the improved performance of the new chassis, the Japanese rider slowly adapting his riding style before mounting a brilliant late attack as his confidence grew in baking hot conditions at the technical Catalunya track near Barcelona.A best lap of 1.47.760 on his final flying lap helped Takahashi claim his third front row start of the 2010 campaign, boosting hopes that he can score a maiden podium for the Tech 3 Racing squad in tomorrow’s 23-lap race. Takahashi was just 0.267s behind Andrea Iannone and he’s confident he can mount a serious threat to the Italian, who has made a habit of streaking away early on his own to claim dominant victories in Mugello and Assen. Team-mate Raffaele de Rosa had an encouraging qualifying session to finish in 22nd position. The Italian experimented with a variety of different settings on his Tech 3 Racing machine to try and help improve his feeling on corner entry. And while disappointed not to have found himself higher up the grid, a best time of 1.48.621 was less than a second away from Takahashi and less than 0.5s from the front row! Yuki Takahashi 2nd 1.47.760 20-laps “I am really satisfied because this is a result as much for my team as it is for me. I can’t praise Tech 3 Racing enough because they have all been working incredibly hard and it really paid off today. I think my crew were working on the new chassis until midnight, but immediately I had a lot more confidence to push. When I am doing a slow lap time I can’t feel so much difference, but when I go down to the 47s and 48s, the front feeling with the new chassis makes a huge difference. It has been a tough period after a good start to the season but I feel confident for the race. Obviously the heat will play a big role but I think we’ve got a good setting that will help the tyres last the race. Being second means there is only one rider to pass but Iannone will be strong, as we have seen recently. When he’s been on pole he’s won quite easily, so I hope to give him a tough time tomorrow. But I will certainly be aiming for my first podium which would be a fantastic reward for the whole Tech 3 Racing Team after the effort and hard work that has been put in. “Raffaele de Rosa 22nd 1.48.621 19-laps “We found a small improvement in that session and I’m a lot closer to the leading group than I have been. To be only half-a-second away from the front row but down in 22nd shows how tough Moto2 is. I’m reasonably happy but obviously I still need to find a bit more pace. I’m sure we can make the bike better for the race tomorrow and I can be a lot more competitive. I really want to try and break into the top 15 for the first time, so hopefully I can do that tomorrow. It will be tough because the conditions are so hot. It is very physically demanding and also tough for the concentration. But we can see the potential in the bike with Yuki doing a fantastic job today and I have to congratulate him. That gives me a big incentive and encouragement and I hope for my best race of the season tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: FOURTH ROW START FOR REDDING AND FAUBEL Marc VDS Racing Team riders, Scott Redding and Hector Faubel, will start tomorrow’s 23-lap Moto2 race at Catalunya alongside each other on the grid, after qualifying 14th and 15th respectively during this afternoon’s 45-minute timed session. In sweltering conditions, with the highest track temperature seen so far this season, Redding struggled to find traction throughout qualifying. The 17-year-old Briton had some close calls as he lost the front in the fast right-handers that are key to a quick lap time at the Circuit de Catalunya. Rear traction was also an issue because of the incredibly hot conditions, with the rear tyre spinning up and then gripping without warning, almost flicking the Marc VDS rider over the highside on more than one occasion. Despite the near crashes, Redding persevered and continued to push hard aboard his Suter MMX machine right to the end of the session, eventually securing 14th place on the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow’s Moto2 race. Faubel declared himself happy with today’s practice and qualifying performance, having closed considerably the gap to the frontrunners in both sessions. The 26-year-old Spaniard made a big step forward after some minor changes to both the set-up of his Suter MMX machine and his riding style through the first section of the 4.727km Catalunya circuit. The Marc VDS rider will make further changes to the bike set-up overnight to stiffen up the front suspension, which he’ll test during warm up tomorrow. Faubel is looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd tomorrow and is confident of adding to his championship points haul. Scott Redding #45: 14th – 1’48.480 “That was a tough session. The bike just didn’t feel right and I came close to crashing more than once on the fast right-handers when the front tried to close on me. It let go in a big way at turn 11, but I managed to hold it up on my elbow and then pick it back up on the gas; it was a close run thing and it’s left a big dent in my titanium elbow protector. Not good. Neither was nearly going over the highside a few times, as the rear let go and the gripped without warning. Like I said, a tough session all-round, but then I guess it was the same for everyone in these conditions. We will make some changes overnight to try and improve rear traction, but tomorrow will just be a case of trying to get a good start and then going as hard as I can for 23 laps.” Hector Faubel #55: 15th – 1’48.491 “I’m much happier today. We made some small changes to the bike for this afternoon and there was a definite improvement. I also changed my riding style slightly through the first sector of the track and now I feel much more comfortable and able to carry more speed. 15th on the grid isn’t ideal, but I’m pleased that we’ve managed to close the gap significantly on pole position. The bike feels much better than it has at the last two races, although we’ll make some further small modifications overnight, and I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “I’m fairly happy with how things have gone today. We made improvements during free practice this morning and we were aiming for top twelve in qualifying for both riders. Okay, so we didn’t quite achieve this, but I can live with that. Both riders did a good job this afternoon and it was good to see Hector making such a big step in qualifying. The fingers are definitely crossed, but I think having both riders finish in the points tomorrow is a realistic goal.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2: GP of Catalunya qualifying: 4th row for Corsi, hard work from Teshima The Moto2 riders in Montmelò were welcomed by burning-hot weather this weekend and the end of a blistering qualifying sees the Italian Andrea Iannone in pole-position, followed by Yuki Takahashi and Thomas Luthi. Our own Simone Corsi ended up in 13th position, after losing some time at the end of the session because of a problem with his rear tyre, which he had some issues with. The tyre is now being investigated by Dunlop’s technicians. Simone managed however to gain a place on the fourth row and he promises another good performance in tomorrow’s race. Yusuke Teshima – the Japanese is racing in Europe for the first time – is engaged in bringing to the track technical perspectives that are different from Corsi’s, to give the team new information. The presence of TSR’s test rider is functional to the development of the MotoBIs, which will proceed tomorrow during the race when the riders will be sandwiched between the 42 total starters of the Moto2 race. The Catalunya GP is expected to be very hard both for bikes and riders. The Spanish heat will be a hard test for everybody and the choice of tyres will be crucial if they are to last the race. Team JiR will also work in the morning to try and have better traction coming out of the corners. Classification: 1. Iannone, 1’47″493 2. Takahashi, 1’47″760 3. Luthi, 1’47″973 13. Corsi, 1’48″447 36. Teshima, 1’49″209