FIM Moto2 World Championship Shell Advance Malaysian GP October 22 Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:07.512 2. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 2:07.724 3. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), 2:08.004 4. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 2:08.069 5. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), 2:08.107 6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), 2:08.154 7. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), 2:08.240 8. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 2:08.319 9. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 2:08.412 10. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), 2:08.414 11. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 2:08.417 12. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), 2:08.466 13. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), 2:08.520 14. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 2:08.549 15. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), 2:08.620 16. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 2:08.714 17. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), 2:08.855 18. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 2:08.934 19. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (SUTER), 2:09.015 20. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 2:09.087 21. Joan OLIVE, Spain (FTR), 2:09.278 22. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (SUTER), 2:09.307 23. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 2:09.315 24. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), 2:09.382 25. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 2:09.472 26. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 2:09.625 27. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 2:09.686 28. Mohamad ZAMRI BABA, Malaysia (MORIWAKI), 2:09.822 29. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 2:09.911 30. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), 2:10.319 31. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 2:10.348 32. Ivan MORENO, Spain (SUTER), 2:10.875 33. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 2:11.022 34. Hafizh SYAHRIN, Malaysia (MORIWAKI), 2:11.388 35. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 2:12.180 36. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 2:12.864 37. Apiwat WONGTHANANON, Thailand (FTR), 2:13.201 38. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), no time recorded 39. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of Malaysia, qualifying: De Angelis 11th Some difficulties in finding the best set-up influenced the qualifying of Alex De Angelis at the Malaysian Grand Prix, and he concluded the session in 11th place with a time of 2’08 .417. After the positive results of the free practice sessions, in the third of which the rider even recorded a best time of 2’08.249, the team tried to apply some changes to the rear of the MotoBI for the attack on the pole. A positive feeling with the rear, however, has resulted in less confidence in the front, which has prevented De Angelis to find the speed to gain an optimal position on the grid. The technicians will use the warm-up tomorrow to define a better overall balance of the MotoBI in order to have a bike ready for a comeback performance in the race. The pole was won by Switzerland’s Thomas Luthi with a time of 2’07.512, followed by Bradl and Pirro. Alex DeAngelis The qualifying session was well below expectations due to issues with the front. In the free sessions I felt the rear unstable so we have been working to fix this issue, we have found the ideal solution, but it registers bad reactions at the front, with feedback that we have never recorded before. We have already identified the causes and possible solutions, we will use tomorrow’s warm-up for major changes and according to the result we will decide which set-up to keep for in the race. Obviously starting from the fourth row makes my work a little harder, but having already clear ideas on what to do technically I remain confident and determined to make a good recovery. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Small steps for Siméon on Malaysian sole (sic) The Malaysian Grand Prix proves to be another difficult learning step for Xavier Siméon in his first full season in the Moto2 world championship, when he qualified on 23rd position on the grid today. Conditions at the Sepang International circuit do not help the 22 year old getting to grips with a circuit he never went to as heat and humidity reached temperatures around 33°C. The Belgian rider is not happy with how the weekend went so far as once again he does not feel confident due to the lack of grip he was experiencing during this session. Tonight Siméon and his crew chief Naoya Kaneko will sit together and check all the data to find a solution for tomorrow’s 19-lap race. Xavier Siméon, 23rd – 2’09.315 in lap 4 of 17: “žAt the beginning the qualifying went not too bad. Unfortunately I did not improve my qualifying lap time like I wanted, as I was too slow. I experienced a lack of grip on the right side of t he tyre and did not feel confident to go faster. We still improved every session, but not enough. It is a new track, but still we should not be so slow and do so small steps session by session. I am obviously not happy with my starting position for tomorrow’s race and with the way the qualifying went. I will check the data we collected with my crew chief this evening and then we will see if we can find something to improve for tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Sixth row for di Meglio, Smith begins recovery Tech 3 Racing Team rider Mike di Meglio will start the Malaysian Moto2 Grand Prix from the sixth row of the grid after a closely contested qualifying session took place in scorching heat at the Sepang circuit this afternoon. The 23-year-old ended qualifying in 17th position, the Frenchman quickly regaining his confidence after he suffered a heavy crash at the fast Turn 6 in this morning’s final practice session. The former 125cc World Champion spent most of today trying to dial out a chatter problem with his Mistral 610 machine, which prevented him from pushing closer to the top 10 in gruelling temperatures that reached an energy-sapping 33 degrees. His best time of 2.08.855 was less than 0.5s away from ninth position and he has targeted a top 10 challenge in the 19-lap race, which is the penultimate round of the 2011 World Championship. British rider Bradley Smith was back at the Sepang International Circuit this morning to commence his battle to be fit for the final round of the season in Valencia on November 6. The 20-year-old has been forced to withdraw from tomorrow’s 19-lap race after he was one of four riders to crash in the early stages of yesterday’s opening practice session. An isolated rain shower fell at Turn 10 and Smith, Marc Marquez, Yonny Hernandez and Jules Cluzel crashed after hitting the wet section of tarmac on full slick tyres. Smith suffered a broken left collarbone and painful blow to his chest in the accident and he underwent thorough checks in the Pusat Perubatan UKM Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur before being discharged at 8pm last n ight. After a comfortable night’s rest, Smith visited Clinica Mobile staff earlier today to consult with specialists on the best way to speed up the recovery of his damaged left shoulder in order for him to participate in the final race in Valencia. Mike di Meglio 17th 2.08.855 16 laps: “I can’t be satisfied to be down on the sixth row and truthfully I expected more. The weekend did not start too bad yesterday but it has been quite difficult to find the pace I’m sure I am capable of. We obviously took the wrong direction with the set-up and the big problem was chatter with the front tyre and this didn’t allow me to push with much confidence. The big crash I had this morning didn’t help and the day was quite disappointing. All I can do is try and make a good start and push into the top 10 as soon as possible. I ha d a strong race in Phillip Island last weekend and I will be looking for similar tomorrow, although we know it is going to be a very demanding race. The heat and humidity is really intense and it will be very tough both physically and mentally for 19-laps.” Bradley Smith: “It is a big pity that I can’t race tomorrow because I am convinced I would have been very competitive this weekend. But at the same time I’m quite lucky because the crash yesterday could have been worse. Right now I feel a bit beaten up, but already I feel a lot better than yesterday. When I got to Turn 10 I saw yellow flags waving but I thought it was because of the crashes before me. I slowed down and the next thing I’ve seen the wet track and almost immediately I lost control of the bike. The initial crash was bad enough but then I hit Marquez’s bike quite hard and I th ink this is how I broke my left collarbone and also took a big hit on my chest. I didn’t really remember anything, so I had to watch a video replay to understand what happened. I’ve also got a bruised left lung and that is causing me quite a lot of discomfort. I would have flown home last night if possible but I can’t fly for 48 hours, so I’ll stick to my initial plan and head back to the UK tomorrow night after the race. When I get home I’ll have more checks to make sure the recovery is going well but it is too early to decide if I can race in Valencia. The shoulder should be fine but we need to wait and see. Finally I’d like to thank all the medical staff at the Clinica Mobile and the Sepang International Circuit because they did a great job.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: MARC VDS CONFIDENT FOR GRUELLING SEPANG RACE Marc VDS Racing’s Mika Kallio and Scott Redding qualified close to the top six in searing hot temperatures at the Sepang International Circuit today, raising expectations of a strong result in the Malaysian Moto2 race. Kallio goes into the 19-lap encounter full of confidence and hoping to deliver his first top six finish of the 2011 World Championship after he qualified his Suter MMXI machine in seventh position. Tropical storms that saw torrential rain soak the 5.548km circuit overnight had a major impact on grip levels today and Kallio once again focussed on finding the best tyre combination to cope with the slippery conditions. His dedication and hard work in gruelling temperatures that hit a physically and mentally demanding 33 degrees paid off, with the Finnish rider setting a best time of 2.08.240 to head the third row. His seventh place equalled his best qualifying result of the season and he was less than 0.3s off the front row. Teammate Redding will join Kallio on the third row after a brilliant last lap attack moved him up from 13th to ninth. The British rider started the qualifying session with high hopes of a second row challenge after he ended practice in sixth position. He posted a best time of 2.08.412 but he wasn’t entirely satisfied to have dropped three places down the rankings from practice after he encountered distracting stomach cramps during the session. Mika Kallio #36 – 2.08.240 – 17-laps – 7th position “I am very happy with how qualifying ended and to be seventh gives us a good chance of battling for the top six tomorrow. I always want to be higher but as always in Moto2, the times are so close and I wasn’t far away from the front row. The encouraging sign is my race pace is very consistent. We have worked a lot on the race set-up and now I think I’m going to use the soft compound front and rear tyres for the race. The rain last night definitely changed the condition of the track and I struggled quite a lot with the hard tyres. The big positive is that I don’t want the bike changing for the race because the set-up is working so well. We haven’t been in that situation for most of the season, so I’m hoping to capitalise on that to fight for the top six and give the Marc VDS Racing Team reason to celebrate on the long flight back to Europe.” Scott Redding #45 – 2.08.412 – 15-laps – 9th position “I’m not completely satisfied because after finishing sixth in practice, I expected to be battling for the second row this afternoon. It wasn’t a trouble free session. On one of my good laps I had a couple of riders just cruising on the racing line. Then I was going to push again and made a mistake at the first corner and messed up that lap, so it came down to the last lap. It was a bit do or die but I climbed into the top 10, which was important. I also had a bit of stomach cramp for some reason, which was a bit of a distraction, but I’m optimistic for the race because we modified the setting of the new chassis and found some more rear grip. That’s essential when the track temperature is over 50 degrees but I think I’m going to run the soft front and the hard rear tyre. I keep losing the front with the hard tyre but the hard rear is going to be better for endurance.” Trevor Morris – Mika Kallio Crew Chief “Before the weekend our target was to always be inside the top eight and Mika has achieved that. He’s been very fast and consistent at the last few races now, so we just need to convert practice promise into a decent result. Everything so far has gone according to plan and we’ve been able to work on race set-up but also keep a good position on the timesheets. The best thing is that Mika has said he doesn’t want the bike changing for the race. He’s obviously happy with the set-up and the important thing is we’ve been doing some long runs so we’ve got an understanding of the tyre endurance. The heat and humidity here means tyre choice is critical, and the surface is pretty greasy, but he’s happy with the selection and he’s going into the race full of motivation and determined to fight for a top six.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: Al-Naimi lacks straightline speed in qualifying Ricky Cardús heads home to Barcelona QMMF Racing Team rider Mishal Al-Naimi improved consistently throughout all three free practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix, but when it counted in qualifying, the 28-year-old rider from Doha, Qatar, wasn’t able to repeat his previous best lap time and had to settle for the 35th position on the grid. Even though his team only made small adjustments to the rear suspension set-up, Al-Naimi suffered from a mysterious lack of speed and couldn’t even catch up with other riders in the slipstream on the long straights of the Sepang track. Teammate Ricky Cardús was sidelined after a practice crash on Friday in which he broke his left forearm, but watched practice from his QMMF Racing Team garage before flying home to Barcelona on Saturday night in order to consult his doctors and to make a decision about the further treatment of his injuries. “We all wish him the very best for a quick recovery”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. Mashel Al-Naimi 34th in 2.11,970 “We worked very well in all free practice sessions and we improved consistently, so I was really looking forward to qualifying where I was determined to climb higher up in the rankings. But when it counted this afternoon, my bike wasn’t as fast any more. I lost speed compared to the other sessions and I couldn’t even catch up with other riders in the slipstream any more. I don’t know if the problem starts on the corner exits or if the engine lost some power. It’s strange, because our only modification was a slight change on the rear suspension set-up. I didn’t improve my lap times and we will now check what we can do for tomorrow’s race!” Ricky Cardús “At first, it all happened very quickly. But as soon as I was high up in the air, time seemed to come to a standstill. I had time to think and I imagined myself getting hurt. And once I hit the ground with such force, I really thought that the diagnosis would be grim. Looking now at the x-ray images, luckily there is less damage than I initially expected to see. I will now try to recover, to put our bad experience here at Sepang behind us and then focus on the next season, which I want to start in perfect shape. It’s still unclear whether I will need an operation to get the bone fragment out of my wrist that came off when I fractured the radius, but my doctors at home will carefully re-assess the injury when I return to Barcelona and then we will take a decision!” More, from a press release issued by Italtrans/AGP Racing: Grand Prix of Malaysia Sepang, October 21st 23rd , 2011, Qualifying Practice Claudio Corti (2’08″319 – 8th) Robertino Pietri (2’10″348 – 31st ) Claudio Corti bettered his fastest time from yesterday by seven tenth, and Robertino Pietri by one second. They are going to start from third and eleventh row to compete tomorrow’s Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix (starting time 08.15 am, European Central Time). Claudio Corti: “This is not an easy track. Add to it that I’m here just for the second time in my career and I do not love it, and you will agree with me that our result is good. We are eight tenth from the pole, and just three from the third placed rider we can do it, tomorrow. My feeling with the bike is good, and we didn’t experienced any problem with the tires. Our pace id good as well: my target will be competing all the race at a rhythm of 2’08. I know it will not be easy: it is going to be terribly hot. The temperature will be our public enemy number one”. Robertino Pietri: “We can do very little about the high temperatures, but did a great job to improve our grip. We modified pretty much our set-up from yesterday. Now we have to take a final decision as far as tires are concerned”. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director): “With high temperatures like these, engines suffers, when riders are in slipstreams. And tomorrow it will be such a race, if you consider how much lap times are similar. The fastest riders are showing a tremendous pace, but we are not so far away and, if we can improve just a bit, we can have a say, in tomorrow’s race. It’s true the heat is terrible, but I see our guys in great shape”. Luigi Pansera (Team Manager): “It has been a positive day. We did a good job. I too am convinced that, at this point, the physical factor the capability to fight in such high temperatures will be one of the key factors. On the other hand I see the personal trainer getting good results from his activity, and the guys seems to be really well prepared and trained”.