FIM Moto2 World Championship Sepang, Malaysia October 21 Free Practice Two Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 2:08.464 2. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), 2:08.486 3. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:08.572 4. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), 2:08.594 5. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:08.609 6. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 2:08.616 7. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 2:08.862 8. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), 2:08.970 9. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 2:09.001 10. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 2:09.007 11. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 2:09.038 12. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), 2:09.083 13. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), 2:09.262 14. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (SUTER), 2:09.275 15. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), 2:09.376 16. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 2:09.596 17. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), 2:09.672 18. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (SUTER), 2:09.850 19. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 2:09.874 20. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), 2:09.939 21. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 2:09.997 22. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 2:10.132 23. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), 2:10.276 24. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 2:10.375 25. Joan OLIVE, Spain (FTR), 2:10.473 26. Mohamad ZAMRI BABA, Malaysia (MORIWAKI), 2:10.598 27. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), 2:10.946 28. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 2:11.054 29. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 2:11.153 30. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 2:11.231 31. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 2:11.244 32. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (MORIWAKI), 2:11.321 33. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), 2:11.675 34. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 2:11.970 35. Ivan MORENO, Spain (SUTER), 2:12.032 36. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 2:12.098 37. Apiwat WONGTHANANON, Thailand (FTR), 2:12.926 38. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), no time recorded 39. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: SOLID START AT SIZZLING SEPANG FOR MARC VDS Marc VDS Racing Team riders Mika Kallio and Scott Redding enjoyed a productive opening day of practice for the penultimate round of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship at a scorching hot Sepang circuit in Malaysia today. Kallio was able to set a hot pace right from the start and in the typically extreme conditions at the 5.548km track, he was an impressive fifth fastest this morning and less than 0.2s away from the top three. Air temperatures soared to a physically punishing 32 degrees this afternoon and Kallio concentrated exclusively on evaluating grip levels with Dunlop’s range of front and rear tyres. The intense heat and humidity in Malaysia places even greater emphasis on the correct tyre choice, and after exhaustive work in assessing all the options available, Kallio is confident he’s found a combination that will help him battle for a top 10 finish in Sunday’s 19-lap race. He was 0.6s faster this afternoon and his best lap of 2.08.970 secured him an encouraging eighth place on the combined timesheets. Redding also enjoyed a positive start to the weekend and he finished less than 0.1s behind Kallio at the end of two gruelling 45-minute practice sessions. The British rider clocked a fastest lap of 2.09.038 this afternoon to finish just 0.031s outside of the top 10. The 18-year-old is confident he can lap consistently in the mid 2.08 bracket tomorrow, as he seeks to make his Marc VDS machine more agile in the fast changes of direction at the Sepang track, which is the second longest on the World Championship schedule. Mika Kallio #36 – 2.08.970 – 32-laps – 8th position “This morning was a very good start and I was happy to be inside the top six. And this afternoon went well also because the goal was to be in the top eight and we achieved that. This afternoon we decided to work a lot on the tyres to find the best combination for the race. I think the best balance will be the hard front and the hard rear but concentrating so much on the tyres we missed out at the last exit. We didn’t have the best combination on and although I did make my best lap time at the end, I felt like I was close to the limit. I also need to improve my pace when the tyres are new. The times were coming quite easy on used tyres but on new tyres in the first three laps, my pace wasn’t much better and you normally you should be able to improve by some tenths. For qualifying we need to make sure I improve in this area because you need to be fast on new tyres to get a good grid position.” Scott Redding #45 – 2.09.038 – 28-laps – 11th position “It wasn’t a bad day but I can definitely do better. I’m struggling a little bit with the fast changes of direction and I’d like a bit more rear edge grip. When I’m at full lean angle I can’t pick the bike up as quick as I’d like, so we’ll come up with a plan tonight to see how we can make the bike more agile. Looking at the timesheets we need to find about 0.5s to be right in the hunt but that won’t be easy. My pace today felt like I was right at the limit and it didn’t seem to matter how hard I pushed the lap time was the same. It was typical Sepang weather today with really hot and humid conditions but all the training and work on my endurance seems to have worked. It was extremely hot but I had the strength and power, and that has given me a good boost.” Michael Bartholemy – Team Manager “Today was a decent start for Mika and Scott but it is clear that both of them have to be around 0.5s faster. We would like to be a little bit higher up but both of them are not far away from the top six and that is encouraging on the first day. I was impressed again with Mika and immediately he found a good feeling with the track this morning to finish very close to the top three. The heat and slippery track conditions make this race very tough, but Mika worked a lot on evaluating tyres and hopefully his efforts will pay off tomorrow and Sunday. Scott also did a good job and he is still learning how to get the best of the updated chassis we only starting using in Phillip Island. His team have got some ideas to help him feel more comfortable tomorrow and I’m sure he will be able to show the high potential of the Marc VDS Racing package.” More, from a press release issued by Italtrans/AGP Racing: Free Practice Claudio Corti (2’09″001 – 9th) Robertino Pietri (2’11″244 – 32th ) With a best lap just five tenth slower than the provisional pole, Claudio got a 9th place that prepares a good working day for tomorrow. The rider from Como, Italy, focused mainly on the best set-up for the race he feels comfortable on his Suter-Honda and believes he must ride as he did last weekend in Australia: with an aggressive style. Robertino and his crew tested different solutions to be finalized tomorrow, mainly in order of getting a better rear grip. Claudio Corti: “When I realized that I could get good lap times without any slipstream I am not interested in getting towed, I want to understand what I can do by myself to evaluate what could be racing alone in the second half of the afternoon session I decided to study my opponents, to get more information and find different suggestions on how improve my knowledge of the track. In the end I too tried a fast lap, but I did a few minor mistakes and could not improve my best one, which I got early in the session at lap number eight. It is incredibly hot: we must prepare not only a fast bike, but also a set-up that can help to reduce the fatigue otherwise, it will be hell”. Robertino Pietri: “I do not have enough rear grip. This is the problem. We evaluated quite a few different solution, and eliminated the less productive. We are going to continue tomorrow, working on the best ones”. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director): “We focused mainly on grip. We studied the best combination of tires, but didn’t s sum up a number of laps big enough to take a decision. Anyway, I do not believe that there can be big differences among different choices. We are going to complete our testing tomorrow. Claudio has not been able to put all his best section s together in a single lap. Is theoretical best is quite faster than the one he clocked today”. More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: Strong start for Al-Naimi in tropical heat Cardús to miss Malaysian Grand Prix after crash QMMF Racing Team rider Mishal Al-Naimi had a strong and promising start into the Malaysian Grand Prix. In tropical heat, which suits the 28-year-old rider from Doha, Qatar, much more than the windy and relatively cool conditions in Australia one week ago, Al-Naimi rode to 34th place and has much more under his sleeve to improve further in qualifying on Saturday. But it was also an unlucky day for the QMMF Racing Team. Just before the end of the second free practice session on Friday, Al-Naimi’s team-mate Ricky Cardús suffered a heavy crash at the exit of turn two, a low-speed left-hand corner. Landing heavily after his highsider, the 23-year-old from Barcelona, Spain, not only dislocated a toe but, more seriously, broke his left radius. Since a small bone fragment came off and was floating in the wrist, rider, team and the doctors were still considering the right treatment on Friday afternoon and it was unclear if Cardús needed to undergo surgery. “It was a strange situation. The session was almost finished and Ricky was on his last lap when he suffered this highsider in turn two”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “We could see on the monitors that he flew two meters high above the ground before coming down hard. He dislocated the big toe of his left foot, which is not a big problem. Worse is his wrist injury with a small fracture of the left radius and a bone fragment that came off. Initially, the doctors said that Ricky wouldn’t need surgery, but we will assess the situation again and then decide with Ricky and his manager what to do. The only certain thing at this stage is that he won’t start in practice tomorrow and that he will miss the race on Sunday as well!” Mashel Al-Naimi 34th in 2.11,970 “Of course it’s hot here, but I still feel much more comfortable than at Phillip Island last week! We started with the settings we had from the Australian Grand Prix, but the bike was low and I had to battle it through the direction changes here at Sepang, which is not my riding style. I didn’t feel comfortable. For the second session, we changed many things and made the bike higher which makes the direction changes much easier, in turn one and two, but also in the other slower corners of the track. I improved my lap time by 1.5 seconds and I was faster than last year. I really felt that I had the speed to stay with the other riders and to be competitive. I followed some other riders and made a good lap time. My goal is to make the same sort of progress again tomorrow and to get good lap times consistently!” “Towards the end of the session, I saw Ricky behind me and I pushed to stay with him. I was right behind him down the main straight and through the first corner, and in the second corner, I saw his rear tyre chatter and at the same moment he was flying high through the air. Fast corner crashes are no problem most of the times because you just slide to a standstill, but highsiders in slow corners are painful and dangerous because you fly high and come down hard. I feel really sorry for him and I hope that he will recover soon!” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Bradley Smith ruled out of Malaysian Grand Prix Tech 3 Racing Team rider Bradley Smith will take no further part in the Malaysian Moto2 Grand Prix weekend after a heavy fall in this morning’s opening practice session at the Sepang circuit. The British rider was one of four riders to crash after an isolated but heavy rain shower fell at Turn 10. Unfortunately for Smith, the appropriate flags warning of a completely wet track in that section were not being waved at the time, which resulted in a 15,000 Euro fine for Malaysian Grand Prix organisers. After an initial examination in the circuit’s first class medical facility, Smith was transferred to the Pusat Perubatan UKM Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur for further checks on left shoul der and chest injuries. Doctors have ruled out internal injuries but the 20-year-old has suffered a small crack in his left collarbone. Smith was discharged from the Pusat Perubatan UKM Medical Centre earlier this evening and he will be back at the Sepang circuit tomorrow for consultations with Clinica Mobile staff on the recovery of his damaged left collarbone. Further information will be made available at the earliest opportunity. More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of Malaysia, first practice The first day of practice at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang, is where the warriors of Moto2 are getting ready for the penultimate round of the 2011 season. De Angelis is in Malaysia following last week’s victory and still remembers the great second place finish last year here in Sepang. These are the elements that are pushing him to do his best to replicate the good results. As usual, in the first free practice session the team and the rider tried to regain confidence with the circuit and interpret the first feedback coming from tyres and set up. Alex completed 13 laps which were used to trace the first guidelines for the rest of the weekend. The work became more intense in the second session, with 16 laps and many, many miles, mostly focused to test the tyres and their duration, in relation to the scorching heat which as usual is gripping the Malaysian circuit. In terms of timing the provisional findings are positive: De Angelis and his MotoBI with the best lap in 2’08.616 are already faster than qualifying time of last year, reflecting the significant technical improvement that there has been compared to last season. In the combined classification Alex is in 6th place, the gaps are very tight meaning that he is only 0.152s from the provisional leader Stefan Bradl. As expected the well-established methodology of Team JiR the means tomorrow will be devoted first to refine the set-up to find the right compromise for the race and then, in qualifying, to try to find the right settings for the single lap to win the best possible position on the grid. Alex DeAngelis As usual we tried the different solutions offered by Dunlop for the tyres trying to find the right feeling. We are ok with the front we have already decided which one is to be used in the race giving me confidence and good durability. For the back we are rather far away, I feel my MotoBI still very nervous so tomorrow we will have to take further action to improve the stability and find a better balance and grip. It is very hot so it will be important to start at the head of the grid for the race, because of following in a slipstream can be misleading: it’s good for speed but hard for the management of the cooling of the engine.