Chattering problems slow West and Ramos

QMMF Racing Team riders Anthony West and Roman Ramos rode to 18th and 29th place at the Grand Prix of Italy. Both the 32-year-old Australian and his 23-year-old Spanish team-mate suffered with chattering problems on their Speed Up bikes, which made it impossible for West to break into the point rankings and for Ramos to get ahead of the four-rider group he was in. QMMF Racing Team will not take part at the official Moto2 test scheduled for Tuesday: A new chassis for their Speed Up prototypes is currently under construction but not yet available.

Anthony West – 18th place

“It was a really difficult race. I had a lot of problems with vibrations and chatter. It didn’t make a difference if I was hard on the brakes or if I released them early, I always had chattering. It seems that when the fuel tank is full and the tyres are new, the bike is quite good. But when the fuel goes down and the tyres go off, I fight a lot with the bike and I can’t keep the corner speed. Towards the end, I had a long battle with Alex de Angelis and at the last moment he got me. It was not a good weekend for me. In other races I felt strong in the races, but here I didn’t feel good. I look forward to the next race at Barcelona and to our new frame that should be available after the Catalunya Grand Prix!”

Roman Ramos – 29th place

“In the warm-up this morning, things went a little better and we were able to improve by seven tenths of a second in comparison to my best time in qualifying yesterday. I was confident that this additional speed would help us in the race, but then our chattering problems returned. I was suffering a lot and didn’t get the result I was hoping for. At least, I was able to fight within the group I was in. I hope to be able to do well at my upcoming home Grand Prix in Barcelona!”

More, from a press release issued by AGT/Rea Racing:

AGT REA Racing finish just outside the Top 20 after a fighting performance at the Mugello GP

AGT REA Racing brought a difficult weekend to a positive close with a fighting performance at the Gran Premio d’Italia on Sunday. Finishing just outside the Top 20 in 21st position, Gino Rea fought hard to move forward throughout the entire race, putting in consistent lap times and his fastest lap time of the weekend.

Gino Rea: “It’s been a really tough weekend for us and although the position is not where I know we can be, it was very a positive way to finish off here at Mugello. We drastically changed the bike geometry between qualifying and warm up, then re-adjusted the suspension settings to suit between warm up and the race. So for the first few laps I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be and lost a bit of ground. But mid-race I did my best lap of the weekend and caught up to the group in front.

“We were able to catch and beat some established teams. It felt good to pass Julian Simon on the last lap and stay ahead of Nico Terol. My lap times were really consistent in the race and I gave it everything I had to catch the group. When I got to them, I thought I would have been able to pass all of them but I got caught up in the battle.

“I think it’s a really positive way to finish the weekend and I would like to thank all of my team, as well as my sponsors American Green Technology and charity partner LIVESTRONG. It was also great to support the KISS Mugello project this weekend and it was a real pleasure for AGT REA Racing to be joined by Kattia Hernandez, Director of the International Environment Commission (CIE) at the FIM and Ignacio Verneda, the Executive Director of Sports at the FIM, on the grid before the race.”

Team Principal Dave Peterson had this to add. “What an exciting weekend of racing. Three of the best races I’ve seen in a long time. Today was Gino’s best performance to date even though we’ve had better results. He found his rhythm today and moved forward in the pack for the whole race. To top the weekend off, I’m excited to have met members of the FIM and to understand their green initiative. We hope to help promote that initiative in any way that we can. All in all a tremendous weekend.”

AGT REA Racing look forward to the official Moto2 test on Tuesday at the Mugello circuit. The team hope to work on areas where they have struggled and been unable to improve upon during race weekends. The 7th Round of the Moto2 World Championship will take place at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya on June 15. 

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

FENATI AND VINALES MAKE IT A 1-2 FOR KTM IN MUGELLO

Italian Romano Fenati made it a special day for the Italian fans at Mugello on Sunday when he pulled off victory in the tightest and most fiercely contested Moto3 race so far this season. Isaac Vinales of Spain was declared second in a photo finish with Alex Rins, making it a 1-2 for KTM.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jack Miller on the RC250GP bike crashed out in the final lap but still leads the championship by five points. Miller and Fenati, also 1-2 in the standings, have between them won all six races so far held in the 2014 World Championship, delivering a perfect scorecard for KTM so far this season.

Five laps before the finish it was clear that the race was wide open with a group of 13 riders challenging at every corner and the lead constantly changing back and forth between the top riders.

Miller was in the lead with two laps ago and it looked like his well-known late braking was going to serve him well. Then in one quick move, the order had completely changed. Miller was down in turn 12 and had to retire.

Fenati, racing in the colors of the Italian flag seized the initiative and the race was his while behind him there was a battle of attrition for the minor place, finally only decided by a photo.

It was a good day out for Red Bull KTM Ajo’s rookie Karel Hanika of Czech Republic who recovered from some early race difficulty to finish in a strong tenth place for six more championship points.

Hanika: ” I made a pretty good start, but on the first corner someone touched me and I lost six or seven positions. I got another knock at the exit of Turn 3. From then on the race pace was very good, and I stuck with the first group.”

Hanika said he made a mistake on the corner of the final lap and lost touch with the leaders.

Jack Miller said he wanted to learn from the experience and come back stronger in the next round, the GP of Catalunya.

Miller: “There was a moment in which I was in third and fighting for second on the last lap. Masbou overtook me on the corner and I had to pass him on the straight. It was hard to close off the line on the first corner, because there were so many people behind me. I tried to regain some places on the final lap, but when I went into Turn 12 but Oliveira blocked me off. I touched his rear wheel and had to pick the bike up. Then Marquez clipped me from behind. It was completely my mistake -a rookie mistake.”

Moto GP of Italy – Mugello Circuit – Round 6

Moto3 Results

1, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 39:46.256

2, Isaac Viñales, ESP, KTM, 39:46.266

3, Alex Rins, ESP, Honda, 39:46.267

4, Miguel Oliveira, POR, Mahindra, 39:46.377

5, Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna, 39:46.516

6, Alexis Masbou, FRA, Honda, 39:46.615

7, Alessandro Tonucci, ITA, Mahindra, 39:46.853

8, Juanfran Guevara, ESP, Kalex KTM, 39:51.486

9, Brad Binder, RSA, Mahindra, 39:51.609

10, Karel Hanika, CZE, KTM, 39:51.651

Other KTM

23, Eric Granado, BRA, KTM, 40:25.338

DNF, Jack Miller, AUS, KTM, 37:46.731

DNF, Enea Bastianini, ITA, KTM, 37:46.743

DNF, Jakub Kornfeil, CZE, KTM, 28:21.624

DNF, Francesco Bagnaia, ITA, KTM, 17:56.397

DNF, Niccolo Antonelli, ITA, KTM, 8:02.502

DNF, Hafiq Azmi, MAL, KTM, 4:07.723

Moto3 Standings after Round 6

1, Miller, 104

2, Fenati, 99

3, Rins, 87

4, Vazquez, 76

5, Viñales, 64

6, Marquez, 60

7, Masbou, 45

8, Kornfeil, 37

9, Bagnaia, 36

10, Oliveira, 33

Other KTM

13, Bastianini, 25

17, Hanika, 14

21, Antonelli, 7

Moto3 Manufacturers Standings after Round 6

1, KTM, 150

2, Honda, 112

3, Husqvarna, 39 

More, from a press release issued by FIM:

FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

Gran Premio d’Italia TIM – Decision of the Race Direction

On 1 June, during the Moto3 Race of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM, whilst attempting a passing manoeuvre the rider #8 Mr Jack Miller crashed into two other riders resulting in all three riders crashing out.

This is considered to be irresponsible riding causing danger to other competitors and is therefore an infringement of Article 1.21.2 of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations.

A Race Direction hearing was held with the rider in attendance.

The decision of Race Direction is to impose the addition of two Penalty Points to the record of rider number 8 Jack Miller, according to Article 3.3.1.3 of the 2014 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Disciplinary and Arbitration Code.

No appeal was lodged.

The decision of Race Direction is final. 

More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:

Laverty And Parkes On The Cusp Of Points

After finishing in 16th position in four of the five Grands Prix coming into round six at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM at Mugello today, PBM MotoGP rider Michael Laverty was hoping to go one place better and score his first points of the season but yet again he was left one place short as team-mate Broc Parkes followed him home in the 23-lap epic.

Ulsterman Laverty and Australian Parkes struggled due to changeable weather during practice and qualifying at the Italian track and as a result, the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed PBM machines lined up towards the rear of the grid in positions 20th and 22nd respectively.

With race day dawning dry and sunny, and in front of 80,000 fanatical locals cheering on home hero Valentino Rossi, ex British Supersport champion Laverty and double World Supersport runner-up Parkes were soon inside the top 20 in the opening laps as they battled with the other Open class machines.

Laverty, aboard the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed Aprilia ART-powered PBM, started to edge clear of his team-mate and by lap eight, he was up to 16th and on the cusp of the points with Parkes making his way up to 18th, despite it being his debut at the track.

As the battles raged throughout the field, Laverty and Parkes continued to lap consistently but couldn’t bridge the gap to former double World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards who claimed 15th place. Parkes, meanwhile, edged up to 17th at half distance and held his position despite reduced grip in the latter stages.

Laverty’s result means it’s the fifth time in six races that he has finished in 16th place and apart from a technical problem in Austin; Parkes has finished every race also meaning 11 finishes out of the 12 races for the Penrith, Cumbria team.

Parkes holds 22nd overall in the 2014 MotoGP World Championship table following his ride into the points in Qatar, tenth in the Open class standings and third in Rookie of the Year. With his string of 16th place finishes and an 18th also, Laverty has yet to register on the scoreboard but importantly for the PBM team, they occupy seventh place in the manufacturer’s table and 13th in the team’s standings going into the next race at Barcelona in two weeks time.

Michael Laverty: “Well you can’t knock our consistency! 16th place again but unfortunately no points. It was another good race for us, the team gave me an improved bike this weekend with some updates and I feel we have done a good job with the set-up. The gap to the Factory bikes is a little too big to bridge at the moment so we have to be content to continue the battle with the other Open class bikes on the grid.”

Broc Parkes: “I knew Mugello was going to be a tough one for me being my first time here and missing one whole session on Friday which put us a little on the back foot. I really enjoyed the track and in the race I had a good start and went with the guys but felt the grip go away and ended up fighting with the Avintia bikes. I was hoping to have a little better pace in the race but we will have a study and see if I can get stronger next race. Barcelona is another new track so need to do as many laps as possible there in practice.”

Phil Borley, Technical Director: “Although it is good to have another double finish, I was hoping we could have been a little more competitive at Mugello. The new parts we used here seemed to have improved the bikes but we still have a big gap to close here, so we need to keep working hard.”

For more information, please visit the team’s brand new website www.pbmuk.net and www.pbmuk.net

More, from a press release issued by San Carlo Team Italia:

Gran Premio d’Italia TIM 2014

Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello (Italy)

30 May – 1 June 2014

Moto3 – First points of the season for San Carlo Team Italia at Mugello

Strong race for Matteo Ferrari, 14th; positive return to action for Andrea Locatelli

Target accomplished today for San Carlo Team Italia at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, theater of the 2014 Gran Premio d’Italia. Matteo Ferrari (Mahindra MGP3O # 3) obtained a positive 14th place finish and his first 2 points after a hard-fought race while Andrea Locatelli, returning after two races of absence due to injury, got close to the “target” passing under the chequered flag in 18th position.

Starting both from eighth row on the grid, the Italian pair rode among the riders battling for a top-15 position since the early stages. After a series of remarkable overtakings Matteo Ferrari achieved a promising result for the rest of the season gaining two precious points that repay the strong commitment of the whole team.

Positive performance for Andrea Locatelli also, who was back on his Mahindra MGP3O # 55 after two rounds of stop due to the injury suffered last April at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo. The Italian finished the race in 18th and not far from his teammate.

A good overall result, strongly pursued by San Carlo Team Italia to celebrate the 100th anniversary of CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) enhanced by the support of CONI’s President Giovanni Malagò, visiting Mugello to attend the sixth round of the 2014 World Championship which today saw the third win of the season of Romano Fenati (KTM the Sky Racing Team VR46) a rider brought-up to international competitions in a three-years project (2011-2013) of the Federazione Motociclistica Italiana’ Team Italia.

Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia – Mahindra MGP3O #3) 14th

“I’m reasonably happy. Gaining my first championship points is a good thing and we can say we have achieved our target for the weekend. I nevertheless cannot be fully satisfied because I lost contact with the group on front in the early stages of the race. Looking at our times we could have got a better result. In any case it has been a good weekend, a good starting point for the rest of the season”.

Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia – Mahindra MGP3O #55) 18th

“It was a good opportunity to get into the points for the first time but, unfortunately, from mid-race onwards I lost ground due to a technical glitch. I’m a bit frustrated but I try to look at the positive sides of today’s race: my lap times have been good and my arm held-on well over race distance; I haven’t had any kind of physical problem returning after two races of absence. Anyway it’s a shame, in light of the excellent work done during the practices we deserved to get in the points. We will continue working in this direction, starting from the next day of test here at Mugello next Tuesday”.

Virginio Ferrari (Team Manager – San Carlo Team Italia Moto3)

“We can be reasonably satisfied with today. We achieved our first goal: to gain our first championship points, a result that rewards the efforts and the commitment of the whole team. Matteo rode strongly and tirelessly to bring home this result, while Andrea was affected by a series of unfortunate little problems: I’m sure that without these drawbacks he would have managed to get into the top-15. This race clearly demonstrates that our riders are able to respond to any challenge before them. From outside it’s not easy to understand this; they never gave-up, showing to be serious professionals and two young guys of absolute talent and perspective”.

More, from a press release issued by Husqvarna:

PERSONAL BEST FOR AJO IN MUGELLO MOTO3 GP

Ajo take Husqvarna to fifth in Mugello Moto3 GP

Husqvarna supported rider Niklas Ajo delivered a personal best at the Mugello circuit in Italy on Sunday when he finished fifth in Rd. 6 Moto3 GP in what was one of the most tightly fought finishes so far this season.

Ajo’s race was impressive given that he started at fifteenth on the grid after a difficult qualifying and was fighting for a podium with a tight pack of lead riders going into the final corner. When Ajo crossed the line to claim his fifth place he was only 0.260 seconds behind the race winner Romano Fenati.

It was not such a happy weekend for Husqvarna factory rider Danny Kent who had to battle stomach flu as well as the challenging race conditions and hard fought race. Kent finished fifteenth to claim the final world championship point and preserve his record of having picked up points in every race so far this season. It is Husqvarna’s debut season in the class and they are currently third in the Manufacturer’s point standings. Both Kent and Ajo ride the Husqvarna FR 250 GP bike.

Just like the motto of the Italian GP: “Al Mugello non si dorme” –At Mugello one doesn’t sleep– there was plenty of action in the popular sweeping circuit and both Husqvarna riders made strong comebacks during the race. Kent, who started at the back of the grid, claimed his fifteenth place after overtaking no less than 11 riders. Both he and Ajo now have 27 championship points and are eleventh and twelfth on the points-table

Niklas Ajo: “I lost many positions in the opening laps and I had to push a lot to keep up. On the last lap I thought that it was my moment and I gradually worked my way into the top positions. On the last corner of the last lap I made a good start, but Oliveira pushed me a little onto grass and I think that was where I lost the podium. I thought I would have had the opportunity to take advantage of multiple slipstreams. Anyway, it was a great race and I’m very happy.”

Danny Kent: “We knew it would be difficult to have a good race after the way the qualifying session went. The whole race was very hard. After just four laps, my energy was sapped. I gave it my best but it wasn’t the result we wanted. But the way things went a point isn’t a bad return. I am confident that we can improve.”

Team Manager Aki Ajo: “I’m happy that Danny was able to finish the race. We were quite worried this morning because he has this stomach flu and already in the warm-up he didn’t have any power. Congratulations to Danny that he was able to finish the race and to get a championship point.”

Speaking of Niklas Ajo’s personal best race, the team boss said: “Niklas was really strong all week on most of the track. He was only a bit weaker in the last corner and maybe that’s why he was losing time on the straight. But he also improved here in the race and we really saw he was fast in T2 and T3. He lost the chance at a podium in the final corner but it was a pretty good race.”

Next round of the Moto3 World Championship is on June 15 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Moto3 Results Rd. 6 GP of Italy at Mugello

1, Romano Fenati, ITA, KTM, 39:46.256

2, Isaac Viñales, ESP, KTM, 39:46.266

3, Alex Rins, ESP, Honda, 39:46.267

4, Miguel Oliveira, POR, Mahindra, 39:46.377

5, Niklas Ajo, FIN, Husqvarna, 39:46.516

Other Husqvarna

15, Danny Kent, GBR, Husqvarna

Moto3 Standings after Round 6

1, Miller, 104

2, Fenati, 99

3, Rins, 87

4, Vazquez, 76

5, Viñales, 64

Other Husqvarna

11, Niklas Ajo 27

12, Danny Kent, 27