FIM Moto2 World Championship Mugello, Italy July 1 Combined Free Practice One and Two Results (all using Honda engines and Dunlop tires):
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (SUTER), 1:53.241 (new circuit best lap record) 2. Stefan BRADL, Germany (KALEX), 1:53.362 3. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (MOTOBI), 1:53.471 4. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (SUTER), 1:53.522 5. Scott REDDING, Great Britain (SUTER), 1:54.010 6. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (FTR), 1:54.017 7. Bradley SMITH, Great Britain (TECH 3), 1:54.115 8. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (TECH 3), 1:54.134 9. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (KALEX), 1:54.136 10. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:54.178 11. Michele PIRRO, Italy (MORIWAKI), 1:54.309 12. Mika KALLIO, Finland (SUTER), 1:54.331 13. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (SUTER), 1:54.334 14. Esteve RABAT, Spain (FTR), 1:54.463 15. Max NEUKIRCHNER, Germany (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:54.562 16. Thomas LUTHI, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:54.563 17. Xavier SIMEON, Belgium (TECH 3), 1:54.571 18. Axel PONS, Spain (PONS KALEX), 1:54.620 19. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:54.626 20. Yuki TAKAHASHI, Japan (MORIWAKI), 1:54.626 21. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (SUTER), 1:54.679 22. Mattia PASINI, Italy (FTR), 1:54.699 23. Simone CORSI, Italy (FTR), 1:54.708 24. Dominique AEGERTER, Switzerland (SUTER), 1:54.716 25. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (SUTER), 1:54.744 26. Claudio CORTI, Italy (SUTER), 1:55.090 27. Ricard CARDUS, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:55.151 28. Jordi TORRES, Spain (SUTER), 1:55.224 29. Jules CLUZEL, France (SUTER), 1:55.438 30. Valentin DEBISE, France (FTR), 1:55.753 31. Robertino PIETRI, Venezuela (SUTER), 1:55.869 32. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (FTR), 1:55.881 33. Anthony WEST, Australia (MZ-RE HONDA), 1:55.998 34. Carmelo MORALES, Spain (MORIWAKI), 1:56.105 35. Santiago HERNANDEZ, Colombia (FTR), 1:56.765 36. Mattia TAROZZI, Italy (SUTER), 1:57.353 37. Kenny NOYES, USA (FTR), 1:57.553 38. Tommaso LORENZETTI, Italy (FTR), 1:57.611 39. Mashel AL NAIMI, Qatar (MORIWAKI), 1:58.236
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
REDDING AND KALLIO BOOSTED BY PRACTICE PACE
The Marc VDS Racing Team avoided the worst of the Italian weather to enjoy a positive and productive opening day of practice for the Gran Premio D’Italia TIM today.
Scott Redding and Mika Kallio made a solid start to round eight of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship this morning. In near perfect conditions as temperatures nudged over 30 degrees at the Mugello circuit, which is nestled in the spectacular rolling Tuscany countryside, Redding was 10th quickest and Kallio 16th.
It looked like their plans to make major improvements to the set-up of their Suter MMXI machines would be thwarted by light rain that disrupted the earlier 125cc and MotoGP sessions this afternoon.
But after riding in almost constantly wet conditions in Silverstone and Assen recently, the rain stopped and this afternoon’s session was run on a completely dry track. Redding and Kallio took full advantage of the sudden improvement in conditions, with both utilising front-end modifications to the maximum to set a competitive pace inside the top 15.
Redding finished fifth fastest with a quickest time of 1.54.010, the 18-year-old benefitting from weight distribution changes to improve confidence with the front-end of his Marc VDS Racing Team bike.
And a new Öhlins front fork setting inspired Finn Kallio to 12th position on the timesheets, with his best time of 1.54.331 putting him less than 0.3s behind Redding.
Scott Redding #45 – 1.54.010 – 31 laps – 5th position “I felt pretty comfortable from the start this morning and I knew I could improve on tenth position with some tweaks to the bike. This morning I was losing in the first section and that was partially down to me. This track is so fast and flowing that you’ve got to relax and try and be smooth. But I’m an aggressive rider and I had to stay calm this afternoon and I felt much better in that section. The confidence I had last year with the front is gradually coming back and that is really important for me. The most important thing is that I’m in the ballpark on Friday and we know we can make some more steps to improve the bike, so it is all looking good so far.”
Mika Kallio #36 – 1.54.331 – 33 laps – 12th position “Today was much better and the biggest improvement came from changing the front fork internals. This is the first time I’ve used this setting and it is a completely different feeling, but it was definitely a big step in the right direction. With the new fork setting the front feels more stable and it feels like I’ve got more support with the front tyre now. Now we can fine-tune this front setting with some more time because in a few corners I had a small chatter problem, but nothing we can’t solve I’m sure. The grip of the new surface doesn’t feel much better than the old tarmac, but the big improvement is the bumps. The surface is much smoother and now in the high speed corners you can enjoy riding much more without the bike moving a lot on the bumps.”
Pete Benson – Scott Redding Crew Chief “Finally the weather favoured us today after Silverstone and Assen and it was a pretty good day for Scott. We still need to find half-a-second tomorrow but we’ve been working a lot with the front suspension to get it working better. We’ve had some little issues for a few races now but we are slowly getting it better and better and Scott was much happier today. He said the changes halved the problem we’ve had for a while and we’ve put some more weight on the front to help with the balance of the bike. We also tried some changes to the rear and we made improvements in that area. Scott is a lot faster than he was here last year so we’re moving in the right direction, but 0.7s to the fastest time is still too much, though I’m confident tomorrow we’ll close the gap.”
More, from a press release issued by QMMF Racing Team:
New approach for Cardús – Al Naimi still chasing best set-up for Mugello QMMF Racing Team riders Ricky Cardús and Mashel Al-Naimi had a promising start into their first ever Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Cardús tried a new and calmer approach to a Grand Prix weekend and an had a rewarding first day of practice in which he improved by more than two seconds from the morning session to the afternoon. Al-Naimi, who had missed last year’s Mugello Grand Prix due to an injury, liked the beautiful 5.2 kilometre-circuit immediately as it reminds him of his home track at Qatar, but is still trying to find the best set-up for the fast direction changes.
“This is the most beautiful track in the whole calendar, but it also is the most difficult one”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “Both of our riders are here for the first time, and considering that, they are doing well. Ricky had to learn the track and the lines this morning to get a first feeling. In the afternoon, he started to push and was just two seconds behind the top riders, which was a good improvement. We will now work on the set-up of his bike, so he will feel better tomorrow. For Mashel it was quite difficult to get to grips with this track. He was four seconds off the pace and he needs to continue to work very hard!”
Mashel Al Naimi – 39th, 1,58.236: It is the first time for me on this track and it is certainly not an easy circuit to learn, but I like it because the layout reminds me of my home track at Qatar, with quite fast bends. There are sections where you have to make very quick changes of direction which are not easy. We started with putting more weight on the front of the bike, then we shifted it back again, all in all, we are still working on a better set-up especially for the direction changes. But I am confident that my team can improve the bike and that I can improve my lap time tomorrow!”
Ricky Cardús 27th in 1.55,151 I changed the chip and decided to approach Grands Prix in a different way from now on: In the first practice session, I ride all by myself, trying to find the right references and my own rhythm around the track without worrying about lap times and my position there is plenty of time for that in qualification! Instead, we now concentrate entirely on our own work and preparation. As far as lap times go, we weren’t very good this morning, but I came back with clear ideas about what to do next, and this paid off in the afternoon when I went more than two seconds faster. I am only 26th, but I got a good feeling and a good rhythm and we only need to find another few tenths of a second to be able to fight within the main group of riders. The track is a lot of fun and also very difficult, but my confidence is growing with every run and with every positive change on the set-up of my bike!