Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix
FIM Moto2 World Championship
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, Indiana
August 10, 2014
Provisional Race Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Mika Kallio, Finland (Kalex), 16 laps, 26:07.410
2. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Kalex), -1.380 seconds
3. Dominique Aegerter, Switzerland (Suter), -1.696
4. Esteve “Tito” Rabat, Spain (Kalex), -2.559
5. Simone Corsi, Italy (Kalex), -6.648
6. Sandro Cortese, Germany (Kalex), -18.639
7. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Kalex), -18.674
8. Alex De Angelis, San Marino (Suter), -18.992
9. Anthony West, Australia (Speed Up), -19.487
10. Johann Zarco, France (Caterham Suter), -19.922
11. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Kalex), -20.013
12. Jordi Torres, Spain (Suter), -20.963
13. Louis Rossi, France (Kalex), -22.672
14. Marcel Schrotter, Germany (Tech 3), -23.836
15. Ricard Cardus, Spain (Tech 3), -25.325
16. Axel Pons, Spain (Kalex), -25.514
17. Lorenzo Baldassarri, Italy (Suter), -28.980
18. Jonas Folger, Germany (Kalex), -32.962
19. Roman Ramos, Spain (Speed Up), -36.564
20. Azlan Shah, Malaysia (Kalex), -36.907
21. Nicolas Terol, Spain (Suter), -38.624
22. Robin Mulhauser, Switzerland (Suter), -39.669
23. Tatsuta Nagashima, Japan (TSR), -39.723
24. Sam Lowes, UK (Speed Up), -44.499, ran off track
25. Gino Rea, UK (Suter), -67.790
26. Luis Salom, Spain (Kalex), -89.100, crash
27. Thitipong Warokorn, Thailand (Kalex), -94.244, crash
28. Josh Herrin, USA (Caterham Suter), -3 laps, crash, pitted
29. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Kalex), -12 laps, DNF, crash
30. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Suter), -13 laps, DNF, crash
31. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Suter), -16 laps, DNF, crash
32. Julian Simon, Spain (Kalex), -16 laps, DNF, crash
33. Mattia Pasini, Italy (Kalex), DNS (crashed during first segment of race)
34. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland (Suter), DNS (crashed during first segment of the race)
Provisional World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 18 races):
1. Rabat, 183 points
2. Kallio, 176
3. Vinales, 140
4. Aegerter, 112
5. Corsi, 96
6. Luthi, 68
7. West, 65
8. Salom, 62
9. Zarco, 52
10. Folger, 47
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing:
Classy Kallio dominates Indy Moto2 round
Indianapolis, USA – 10 August 2014: Marc VDS Racing Team rider Mika Kallio strengthened his Moto2 World Championship challenge with a majestic victory in a restarted race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kallio had rocketed into a lead of over two seconds from pole position with some blisteringly fast early laps when the race was red flagged on safety grounds after a four-rider incident.
The unflappable Finn wasn’t to be denied and he demolished the field again in the 16-lap restart with a vital third win of 2014 cutting teammate Tito Rabat’s lead to just seven-points heading to Brno next weekend.
Battered and bruised from a heavy qualifying crash, it was a lack of rear edge grip that hindered Rabat the most, as the Spaniard slipped back from second to fourth at the chequered flag.
Jorge Navarro gave a fantastic account of himself on an unforgettable Marc VDS Racing Team debut in the 23-lap Moto3 race.
Starting from the second row after the best ever qualifying performance by a Marc VDS rider in Moto3, the 18-year-old Spaniard finished 14th and spent almost half of the race in contention for the top 10.
Mika Kallio // Race Winner
“The first two laps of the first race were incredible and I felt immediately really confident and fast on fresh tyres. For the second race we decided to keep the same tyres and I didn’t have the same good feeling. I still managed to open up a gap but I was pushing on the limit and the gap to second remained the same, so it was impossible for me to pull away. I just concentrated on keeping the gap to just over a second and it is a great feeling to win from pole position and be in control of the race from start to finish. It is a big result for the Championship and now we go to Brno where I won last year with a lot of confidence.”
Tito Rabat // 4th
“Fourth is not the result I was expecting and I had a lot of problems in the race. Once the rear tyre started to wear on the edge I couldn’t keep my corner speed and I was sliding much more than normal and losing a lot of time. All I can do is try and bounce back in Brno and try and get back to the top step of the podium. Mika is riding very strong and he is close in the Championship but we still have eight races to go.”
Jorge Navarro // 14th
“My target coming into this weekend was to finish the race and gain as much as experience as possible, so to score two-points and be fighting for the top 10 makes me incredibly happy. I think I could have made a better result but two important mistakes compromised my race a little. But for my first race with the team and everything being so new like the Kalex-KTM package and the track, I have to be satisfied with my performance. The biggest thing I learned was the first laps are very important and you have to push at your maximum right from the start. And you can’t commit any mistakes at this level because you get punished. I am very happy to get this opportunity from Marc VDS Racing and after such a positive start I can’t wait for Brno next weekend.”
Michael Bartholemy // Team Principal
“After a difficult start on Friday, Mika and his crew did a phenomenal job to get the pole position and victory double. Mika didn’t let the red flag disturb him when he already had a big lead and he showed his class and experience by managing the lead to take a win that really boosts his title challenge. It is a shame Tito couldn’t keep second so we could celebrate a 1-2 but he clearly had some grip issues that we will analyse on the data. The Championship is certainly interesting now and it is all set up for an exciting final eight races for the Marc VDS Racing team. I can’t speak highly enough of Jorge’s performance. He didn’t know the team, the bike or the track, so to qualify inside the top six and score points fully justified the opportunity we gave him. I am now looking forward to his progress over the remainder of the season because he is a bright talent.”
More, from a press release issued by AirAsia Caterham Moto2 Team:
Indianapolis Grand Prix Race Release
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Circuit Length: 4.170 m
Race Length: 25 laps
Weather
Race: Dry; (air temp) 29°, (track temp) 43°
An action packed beginning to the Moto2 race saw Josh Herrin make a superb start as he launched himself off the line to gain three places on lap one. Pushing hard the young American fought his way up to sixteenth place. With Johann Zarco in sixth position the AirAsia Caterham Team were looking strong before a crash involving four riders brought the red flag out.
A sixteen lap race restart was declared with the field starting from their original grid positions.
Despite having all the work to do again, both riders headed back onto the grid feeling confident and ready to fight for the points.
Herrin made another good start but disaster struck as he was caught up in a four rider crash in Turn Two. Returning to the pits his crew worked quickly to repair the #2 Caterham Suter allowing him to resume his race.
Meanwhile Zarco fought hard to keep up his pace as he became locked in a battle for sixth place. Struggling with his feeling on the bike the Frenchman crossed the line in a respectable tenth place.
#5 Johann Zarco: P10
“We had the first start, then there was a red flag and I restarted again in fourth position for a sixteen lap race. I really thought that this race would be even better than the first because I felt that I could be faster.
“Finally in the second start the situation was the same with the same fast group in front of me, but I could not keep the pace, so then I was fighting for sixth place. It was a group from sixth to eleven I think and here it was too difficult. The feeling wasn’t coming like in Qualifying. I tried to keep calm and not make the same mistake as Sachsenring, but even like this the lap time was so slow. I saw lap by lap I could not really fight anymore.
“I’m disappointed that I could not achieve sixth position but after how hard it has been this weekend and how far down I was throughout the practice sessions, tenth place is not that bad.
#2 Josh Herrin: P28
“My first start was good and I managed to work my way through to sixteenth. Before the red flag came out I felt like I could have continued to fight hard to catch the guys in front.
“As the race restarted there was a lot of shuffling about and I was forced off the track and out onto the grass. It’s definitely not the way we wanted to end the weekend. Luckily the bike wasn’t too damaged and the guys were able to fix a bar so I could go back out, finish the race and get some track time.
“I’ve just got to keep trying, stay focussed and hopefully with a bit of luck too we will get the results.”
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “This weekend has been tough but we managed to do a very good job in Qualifying yesterday. We were trying to do the best out of that and after how much we had struggled our target for Johann was to stay in the top ten.
“Johann did well in both race starts today and was well with the top five but he had a problem with the rear and so we have to accept tenth position. He potentially could have been sixth but he said it was very difficult to fight for that. I think he did well to bring the bike back home and we gained another position in the Championship which is good. We will now go to Brno, a track that suits him better, so let’s see there. We will keep working to improve the bike for the races because that’s where we are lacking performance and need to be stronger.
“Josh did very well in the first race and was up to sixteenth position when the red flag came out. In the second race he unfortunately crashed as some other riders went down in front of him. It was very disappointing as he has worked to improve his performance. I think if the red flag hadn’t have come out, it could have been a different story.”
More, from a press release issued by AGT Rea Racing:
AGT REA Racing finish 25th at Home Race following tyre issue
AGT REA Racing finished their home race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix in 25th position, following a tyre issue during the restarted race.
The only American team in the MotoGP paddock were on the verge of a top 20 finish before Rea’s machine jumped out of first gear, instigating a collision with another rider. The incident lost AGT REA Racing too much time in order to regain a top 20 spot as Gino Rea explains:
“The race definitely didn’t go as expected. We went with the softer tyre option and it gave me extreme chatter on the entrance to all turns. I was doing my best to ride around the problem but I couldn’t get close to what I did in qualifying or even in the warm up in lower temperatures. My bike jumped out of 1st gear and I was hit from behind which bent the exhaust. I didn’t know what was wrong with the bike at first, I couldn’t lean it over on the left turns and soon realised the exhaust was bent and touching the ground. That was my race over as I lost so much time after the incident. I was close to pitting in but just stayed out there to finish the race. Of course I’m disappointed because yesterday I knew I had the pace to be in the points battle. But the bike today didn’t allow me. It was good this weekend to close the gap to the leaders so I hope to continue that in Brno next week.”
Dave Peterson, Team Principal:
“All in all a great first experience at this incredible venue. It was American Green Technology’s home race and we welcomed dignitaries from far and wide. Indy is such an iconic place, my team were in awe the entire time, we even kissed the bricks! Although it’s not the result I would have wished for, we are learning with every free practice and race, and we look forward to a better result at Brno”.
AGT REA Racing now make a swift return to Europe for the next race at Brno, Czech Republic on August 17th.
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
Happy end for Anthony West and Roman Ramos
QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West rode to ninth place in the Indianapolis Grand Prix and celebrated a happy-end of a race that started with a nasty surprise.
West was within the main pack of riders when Switzerland’s Randy Krummenacher made a mistake and took West out with himself. West’s Speed Up bike slid into Mattia Pasini, who was on the ground already after a crash of his own. Since Pasini lost consciousness for a while, the race was interrupted. As it turned out in the hospital of Indianapolis, the Italian got away without serious injuries.
After the re-start with a shortened race distance of 16 laps, West was immediately on the pace again. 16th after one lap, he worked his way towards the front, arriving in tenth position on lap six and in ninth place with three laps to go. With more race time and a little more engine speed, he would even have been able to battle it out with the three riders right in front of him.
Team-mate Roman Ramos made a similar recovery from his difficulties in practice and his 34th starting position. After one lap in 27th position, he managed to hunt eight more riders down as the race went on and proudly finished in 19th position.
Anthony West – 9th place
“I had already passed Randy Krummenacher some corners before and I was braking on my normal line into turn ten, when Randy was trying to pass me. He was clearly too fast, because I had been braking late myself. He lost control and hit me, so we both crashed. My bike went sliding into Pasini who was already laying on the track.”
“After the re-start, I managed to find a good rhythm, to pass a lot of other riders and to take a good result. It was the happy ending of a weekend that felt like a roller coaster ride. The first day was perfect, everything was good, the bike worked well, I was comfortable. Then yesterday was a disaster, I felt the bike was slow and that I didn’t have enough grip. Now with the race result, I am happy again, even though I am a little bit disappointed because I know I could have beaten the three riders that were in front of me. I felt so much better than them, but my bike was too slow. Even if I was in the slipstream, the others would pull away. With a little more speed, I could have been in front of Cortese. I could have been sixth, but the engine did not allow it. Our next engine change is scheduled for the next Grand Prix at Brno. I hope we will be lucky enough to get a faster one!”
Roman Ramos – 19th place
“It was a complicated weekend for us. I started from the last position on the grid, because we had a lot of set-up problems and I couldn’t do a fast lap in qualifying. Today in the warm-up, we found a little improvement on the bike and I felt a little better myself as far as my riding goes, so we managed to improve our lap times. In the race, I took advantage of these improvements and I managed to make up a lot of positions. I am happy with what we achieved, the team worked well and gave me a motorcycle that was good to ride. I hope we can continue to improve from now on, because we are too far behind in the championship, which is a situation that I don’t like at all. In the next races, will work hard to make up some positions, but for now I want to thank my team not only for improving my bike but also for encouraging me when I was in a dark mood about our lack of results!”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Unlucky race for Pasini, with Corsi finishing 5th
It was a difficult race for the NGM Forward Racing Team in a red flagged interrupted race that saw Mattia Pasini involved in an incident during lap 4 at turn 10 together with Krummenacher, Shah and West. The Italian, who was initially unconscious after the crash, fortunately was able to walk away. In the incident Pasini suffered a head trauma and was taken to the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for precautionary scans, that gave a negative results.
The re-start of the shortened 16-lap race saw Simone Corsi starting from 4th position. Simone made a mistake at the end of the first braking, running off. In this way he lost the contact with the front guys. He was very good at managing the race, defending the 5th position. With todays’ result he maintains the fifth position also in the world championship with 96 points.
Simone Corsi
“We were competitive today but in the first corner I ran off, losing the contact with the front group. I tried to recover but I lacked a bit of grip on the rear. Anyway I was able to defend the fifth position. It’s a pity, but we will come back stronger in Brno”.
Mattia Pasini
“It was a difficult weekend. On Friday I crashed, injuring my finger, yesterday we struggled but today I had a positive feeling with the bike. I did a good start and I was close to the top 10 when I was involved in this incident at T10 on lap 4 together with other riders. I don’t know what happened. I lost the consciousness for a couple of seconds but then I could walk in the medical car. The result of the scans were negative so I look forward to race in Brno”.