FIM Moto2 World Championship Motorland Aragon, Spain September 17 Qualifying Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires): 1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 1:53.296 2. Julian SIMON, Spain (SUTER), 1:53.980 3. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:54.004 4. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 1:54.075 5. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 1:54.174 6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:54.220 7. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:54.289 8. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), 1:54.358 9. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), 1:54.385 10. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), 1:54.390 11. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:54.413 12. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 1:54.518 13. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), 1:54.574 14. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 1:54.599 15. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), 1:54.619 16. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:54.625 17. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:54.753 18. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), 1:54.793 19. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), 1:54.889 20. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), 1:54.946 21. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:55.047 22. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:55.084 23. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:55.175 24. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 1:55.283 25. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 1:55.324 26. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:55.395 27. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (PONS KALEX), 1:55.445 28. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:55.560 29. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (SUTER), 1:55.593 30. Tomoyoshi KOYAMA, Japan (SUTER), 1:55.608 31. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (FTR), 1:55.735 32. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:55.867 33. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), 1:55.926 34. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), 1:55.948 35. Joan OLIVE, Spain (FTR), 1:56.613 36. Sergio GADEA, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:56.636 37. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:56.691 38. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 1:57.197 39. Elena ROSELL, Spain (SUTER), 1:58.806 More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: With the problems of a lack of electricity from yesterday solved at the Spanish circuit of Aragon today, it was possible to return to the track for the second day of the race weekend. The practice of this morning was longer than usual to catch-up the time lost on Saturday and it saw Alex De Angelis and his MotoBI among the fastest riders, with a series of laps always in the top positions. What followed was intensive work to finalize and define the set-up for the race and consolidate this performance with a good overall pace. This progress was affected during qualifying, when the climate conditions differed from the other sessions thus influencing some of the variables of the set-up, therefore preventing the technicians making the MotoBI even better. De Angelis has finished qualifying with fifth place on the grid, with a 1’54 .174s lap which puts him in a package of six riders separated by less than four-tenths of a second: all apart from being seven-tenths of a second from the leader of qualifying, Spaniard Marc Marquez. Alex DeAngelis After this morning we thought and hoped to finish the qualifications in a better place, in fact this morning I made many laps around the low 1’54 bracket and all with used tyres. I was expecting to be able to go below this time, instead in the afternoon we had very changeable climatic conditions of moisture and sunshine and my MotoBI had suffered, we were unable to find the ideal condition and we start on the second row. It is still a position that satisfies me because the gap is not too big from pole, indeed the pace and tyre choice makes me feel comfortable and we are performing well. Keeping our fingers crossed I think tomorrow we can have a good race, we are competitive with the top riders and with a good start I can go all the way. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Xavier Siméon biting his way through the qualifying session in Aragón Xavier Siméon had a brave ride through a tough qualifying at the Motorland Aragón today where he finished in 24th position. Once again it was a difficult session for the Tech3 B Team rider as he struggled to improve his morning lap time and had to settle with a starting position in the back of the field where he will have to get the best possible start for tomorrow’s 21-lap long race once again. Xavier Siméon, 24th, 1’55.283, 19 laps: “žThe beginning of the qualifying was not bad, but after we changed the tyres I never was able to improve my lap time again and I don’t know why. It is a pity, because I really wanted to start a race further in front and not having to try to fight all the way through the field again. Already this morning I had difficulties to go fast. We need to improve that for tomorrow as like this it will not be an easy race again.” More, from a press release issued by ItalTrans/AGP Racing: Grand Prix of Aragon Alcaniz (E) September 16th 18th, 2011 Qualifying Claudio Corti (1’54″625 – 16°) Robertino Pietri (1’56″691 37°) After an atypical first day, when the afternoon session was canceled because of a breakdown of an electrical device a transformer today business as usual. In the morning the team worked at the set-up, and in the afternoon competed for the best possible position on grid, for tomorrow’s GP. Claudio Corti: “I did a mistake I went back to the pit to change my tires for the last attempt just one lap too late. So I missed the very last chance. I believe our pace is good 54 high and I got my fastest lap when alone, without the help of any stream. He are experiencing some chattering”. Robertino Pietri: “We have a problem I’m at thee limit, but not fast the way we should. We are going to study our telemetry, this evening, to understand why and to find the way to improve our performance, mainly on the straight”. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director): “The job we did yesterday to improve the air flow did work, but probably we lost something as we had to modify our front. Globally we got an advantage, but we have to improve the aeronautics to get all the benefit to our advantage. We have still margin to further progress, but it is a research that want some time”. Luigi Pansera (Team Manager): “We have all it’s necessary to a complete and efficacious development. We are in need of a step ahead clear an soon”. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3: Smith and di Meglio ready for Aragon race The Tech 3 Racing Team will start tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon Moto2 race aiming for a double points-scoring finish from Bradley Smith and Mike di Meglio. This afternoon’s qualifying session at the challenging 3.155 miles turned out to be a tough experience for both Smith and di Meglio and they will start from 15th and 19th respectively on the grid for the 21-lap encounter. Smith was optimistic he could ride his Mistral 610 machine into contention for a place on the second row of the grid after a productive practice saw him work on improving the set-up of his French-built bike. The 20-year-old was ninth in practice but the expected improvements in qualifying unfortunately never materialised and his fastest time of 1.54.619 put him 15th. The times were once again close in another fiercely contested Moto2 session and Smith’s best was just over 0.6s away from third position. It was a tough afternoon for di Meglio, who had to settle for 19th place, but his lap time of 1.54.889 didn’t accurately reflect his true capability. The French rider was an encouraging 18th overall in practice but he was prevented from challenging for a better position on the grid by a rear tyre chatter problem. He was less than 0.3s behind Smith and he’s determined to put today’s troubles behind him and race for a top 15 finish tomorrow. Bradley Smith 15th 1.54.619 17 laps: “Unfortunately this afternoon we did not improve our lap time by much at all and that means that we went from being strong and competitive in the top 10 this morning to only 15th. That is disappointing and I am trying to find the reasons why. I felt pretty good on the bike but I was just struggling to find rear grip. Now I have to get a good start and try to work my way forward, which will not be easy on this track, but I am ready for the challenge. I am 1.4 seconds off the lead, but only 0.7s off second place and I will look to start battling with my Championship rivals once again. We’ve always found a big step with the bike for the race, and I’m convinced my Tech 3 Racing Team can do the same again tomorrow and we can be racing in the top six like we were in Indy and Misano.” Mike di Meglio 18th 1.54.889 18 laps: “I am very angry with my final position on the grid. I was happy with my pace this morning and I was sure I could improve this afternoon. Unfortunately I sta rted to have trouble with the rear tyre again. I had a big chatter problem. The bike was very good for the corner exit, but the entry was not good and I was losing a lot of time. The whole bike was jumping going into the corner and I was close to the limit and very close to crashing. I hope tomorrow we can find an improvement for the race because once again today it was quite frustrating.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team: Cardús battles on with older chassis – Al-Naimi finds the right set-up and is ready to race QMMF Racing Team rider Ricky Cardús battled through a tough second day of practice at his home Grand Prix of Aragón. After a crash on Friday, which destroyed the new chassis of his Moriwaki prototype machine, the 23-year-old from Barcelona had to go out with the previous version of his frame. Even though he struggled to find enough traction, he still managed to improve his lap time, but dropped back to 26th place on the starting grid. In the meantime, team-mate Mashel Al-Naimi was busy evaluating a number of important modifications on his bike. Both the changes to the rear shock absorber and to the shape of his fuel tank for additional support were helpful enough to boost his performance by more than two seconds in comparison to the first day of practice. “Mashel was able to repeat the lap times of our tests here at Aragón, which is good. He keeps working and he knows that it will be a hard race”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “It was a strange weekend for Ricky so far. We first tested the new chassis and swingarm and he felt very good. He then crashed and destroyed the new chassis, so we had to go back to the old one. He did as much as he could in qualifying, but a lot of credit also goes to his technicians. They worked miracles to prepare the bike for the second session yesterday and I want to thank them even though this second session didn’t take place due to the power cut!” Mashel Al-Naimi 38th in 1.57,197 “When I started this morning I felt like yesterday. But in qualifying this afternoon, I changed the rear shock and things went much better straight away. I had more grip with both the hard and the soft tyre and I felt very comfortable on the bike. We also modified the tank, which was the right move. I like a big tank for additional support under brakes and more braking power. I’ve ridden 1000 cc bikes for many years and I am used to the bigger tank and the bigger dimensions altogether. I feel good with the bike now and I hope I can stay with a group and put up a fight. I want to thank my team which has helped me a lot!” Ricky Cardús 26th in 1.55,395 “I received a treat of chocolate when I got my new chassis yesterday, but I only had the sweet taste in my mouth for precious little time because I crashed and couldn’t continue with the new bike any more. We tried to get the same performance out of the older version, but it wasn’t easy. We had lots of problems to find enough traction. I’m able to go reasonably fast for the first three, four laps, then the rear tyre starts to spin, my lap times increase and it’s hard to ride altogether. But there is no point in worrying about what we lack right now. We will have the new chassis once again at the next race in Japan, and for now I will do my best and battle as much as I can in the race here at Aragón, even though it is going to be tough!” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: REDDING AND KALLIO READY FOR ARAGON ASSAULT The Marc VDS Racing Team goes into tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon Moto2 race with high hopes of breaking its 2011 podium duck after Scott Redding helped the Suter MMXI machine claim a clean sweep of the front row of the grid. And teammate Mika Kallio gave himself a great opportunity to score his first top six finish of the 2011 World Championship when he qualified in an excellent ninth place. Redding quickly made up for lost time this morning when a lap of 1.54.331 placed him third in a practice session extended to 75 minutes after a major power outage caused severe disruption to Friday’s schedule. The Briton was able to shave a further 0.3s off his time in qualifying with a brilliant late attack to secure his first front row start since his home round at Silverstone in June. It is the second year in succession that Redding has started the Motorland Aragon race from the front row and he will start the 21-lap with high expectations of clinching his first podium since he was a sensational second in the Australian round at Phillip Island 11 months ago. After a difficult practice yesterday left Kallio in 30th position, the Finnish rider immediately found a much faster pace with modifications to the front-end of his Suter MMXI machine giving him the same level of confidence he had at the previous race in Misano. He improved by an incredible 2.7s this morning’s with a 1.54.683 putting him in a morale-boosting eighth place. Improving the base set-up he used this morning, Kallio was faster again in qualifying with a best lap of 1.54.385 clinching a deserved spot on the third row of the grid. He ended less than 0.4s away from Redding and the Marc VDS Racing Team is optimistic that it can compete for a first double top six finish of the season in the 21-lap race. Scott Redding #45: 3rd Position – 17 Laps – 1’54.004 “I’m really happy to be on the front row because in all honesty it wasn’t an easy session. I was struggling with a bit of front-end chatter and it got a bit frustrating towards the end. With only six minutes to go I just decided to go and ride as hard and aggressive as I could to get a decent grid position; it was an out of control lap but a fast one! To be on the front row is a great boost for the Marc VDS Racing Team and now I’m focussed on the podium tomorrow. I’ve been fifth in the last two races and led for a long time in Misano, so there is no reason why the result can’t be even better here. There’s obviously a big gap to Marquez but we know he is on a different spec bike and there is nothing I can do about that. My job is to go out and do the best I can for the Marc VDS Racing Team and that’s what I’ll do.” Mika Kallio #36: 9th Position – 19 Laps – 1’54.385 “Today was a big improvement compared to yesterday but we expected that with the front-end changes we made to the bike. Ninth place on the grid is a really good result because in the last few races, qualifying is where we have struggled the most. We set a target of making a big improvement in qualifying here and after finishing eighth this morning, the goal was to be on the third row and we accomplished that. I might have even been on the second row because my best lap wasn’t perfect and I made a couple of small mistakes. Looking at the times the group to fifth is very close, so I think I can race for a top six. My pace in the race is normally faster than in qualifying, so if that continues tomorrow I’m confident I can get my best finish of the season.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “That was without doubt our best combined qualifying performance of the season, so now we have to convert that into a positive result tomorrow. Scott has been one of the fastest on track from the first laps on Friday and it is a great feeling that he’s put us on the front row. It feels a long time since we had this taste, so now we have to aim for the podium tomorrow. The gap to Marquez is quite big but as he is the only one on the 2012 Suter prototype, this is not a big surprise. We will get the new parts in Japan, which will allow us to confirm the potential and direction of the Suter package for 2012. Mika too has been very fast and consistent and the important thing was he challenged for the top six throughout. When you do this it is good for the motivation and we have seen in the last few weeks he is always faster in the race, so we are looking for him to have his strongest result of the season tomorrow.”