JONAS FOLGER READY TO MAKE MAPFRE ASPAR DEBUT AT INDIANAPOLIS German rider to link up with Héctor Faubel as team aim to turn season around After a month’s break since the last race at Mugello it is time for the Moto3 World Championship riders to go back to work as the season resumes with the Indianapolis GP this weekend. Series leader Sandro Cortese and Maverick Viñales will be difficult to beat, having each taken a second place apiece from the last two races here in 2010 and 2011 behind MAPFRE Aspar rider Nico Terol, who has since moved up to Moto2. Cortese arrives at round ten of seventeen with a nine-point advantage over Viñales in the chase to replace Terol as the minor category World Champion. The MAPFRE Aspar Team go into the second half of the season with a mixture of youth and experience, teenager Jonas Folger joining the team to link-up with the veteran Héctor Faubel. After enduring a more difficult first half of the season than predicted Faubel is determined to turn his fortunes around in the final eight races whilst German youngster Folger has been drafted in to try and boost the team’s results in the second half of the season and he is excited about the challenge ahead. Héctor Faubel: “We travel to Indianapolis after a pretty long break and I can’t wait to get back to work on the bike with the team. I like Indianapolis a lot, I have never managed a podium there so our objective is to change that statistic. At the start of the holidays I took the opportunity to have a rest and then I continued the training plan that I have for the season. I have worked hard on the bicycle and on the motocross bike but without taking too many risks of crashing. Since last week I have been going to bed later and later to try and get used to the time difference. Indianapolis is a circuit with unpredictable grip levels but I like it. The first and final sectors are quite twisty and that’s where you can make up time.” Jonas Folger: “I am really excited and a little nervous about the new challenge ahead of me starting this weekend. Everything is new for me – the bike, the team… I will work very hard from the first session to try and adapt as quickly as possible. Hopefully we can get on the right path with the bike and be fighting near the front from the start. Aside from the results the most important thing right now is to adapt quickly to the team and the bike, get a good feeling and go as fast as I can. If I can manage that I am sure the results will come. Indianapolis is a difficult circuit but I like it and hopefully it proves to be a good place to make my debut with the MAPFRE Aspar Team”. More, from a press release issued by Mapfre Aspar Team: NICO TEROL TO BE JOINED BY JORDI TORRES AT INDIANAPOLIS Nico looking forward to racing at talismanic circuit as Torres returns to MAPFRE Aspar ranks in quest for permanent place in Moto2 Unlike previous seasons when the MotoGP World Championship has returned from the summer break to race at Brno in the Czech Republic, this year it will be the legendary Indianapolis circuit in the United States that sees the world’s premier motorcycle racing series fire back into life. It is round ten of seventeen for the Moto2 and Moto3 categories and it takes place at one of the most important motor racing venues in the world, home of the famous NASCAR series. The original oval track was built in 1909 but the infield circuit was adapted in 2007 to make it suitable for MotoGP racing and after a month off the Moto2 riders are eager to get back to business. Pol Espargaró, Andrea Iannone and Thomas Luthi will have to produce their best form in the second half of the season if they are to stop current series leader Marc Marquez in the chase for the championship. MAPFRE Aspar rider Nico Terol smiles at the mere mention of one of his favourite circuits. The Spaniard has celebrated victory three times in just four years of racing at Indianapolis, all three wins coming in the 125cc class, and the Spaniard is hoping it can prove to be a happy hunting ground once more in Moto2. True to his work ethic Nico has spent time during the summer break riding a 600cc sport bike in an attempt to prepare for the next race as well as he possibly can. The MAPFRE Aspar rider will be joined this weekend by current Moto2 Spanish Championship leader Jordi Torres, who for the second successive season joins the team for the second half of the campaign. Nico Terol: “The break was a good opportunity for me to prepare myself for the second half of the season. We have been on a positive curve recently and I hope we can pick up where we left off. I have some great memories of Indianapolis and I hope my style on the Moto2 bike is as suited to it as it was on the 125. During the break I have taken some time off to recharge my batteries but I have been working hard and did some testing on a 600 at Albacete to try and mimic the feel of a Moto2 bike. Indianapolis is a circuit that demands a lot of concentration because it is bumpy off line and you can easily crash if you run wide. It has some flowing sections and it is a physically demanding lap with some hard braking and acceleration zones.” Jordi Torres: “I still have some discomfort in my left fibula but overall I am feeling positive. I can’t wait to get out to Indianapolis and luckily I go there with prior knowledge of the track and the team. I just need to get a feel for the bike as quickly as possible and adapt to the Dunlop tyres, then fight my hardest from there. My objective is simply to give it 100% from the first session to try and be as competitive as possible. Hopefully we can make gradual steps forward and make the most of this opportunity. I know there is a place in Moto2 up for grabs and I am going to give it my best shot.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: Gosselies, Belgium: After a long five-week summer break Scott Redding and Mika Kallio are raring to go, as the Moto2 class descends on the world famous Brickyard for the Indianapolis Grand Prix this weekend. Redding is still chasing a first race win in the intermediate class, but the 19-year-old British rider’s main focus remains on the championship. Redding is currently lying fifth in the standings, 47 points behind series leader Marc Marquez, but is confident that a top three finish is still possible with a run of consistent results in the second half of the season, starting this weekend at Indianapolis. Persistent mid-race chatter has been a major issue for Kallio so far this season, but despite the problem, the 29-year-old Finn finished second at the Sachsenring and has only been outside the top ten once this season. Kallio is confident that if they can find a solution to the chatter problem at Indianapolis this weekend, he’ll be back challenging at the front of races during the second half of the season. With more than 250,000 seats in the grandstands the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the biggest permanent sporting arena in the world, but the circuit has been criticised in the past for the bumpy and patchy nature of the MotoGP track, which runs inside the world famous oval. The track underwent extensive resurfacing work almost two years ago, but the variation in tarmac means that grip remains unpredictable. Scott Redding #45: “I can’t wait to get back to racing after a long summer break, but at least the downtime means I head to the United States with the batteries fully recharged. I like racing at Indy; the track has been a good one for me in the past and the atmosphere and the people at the circuit make it a very special event. As usual I’ll be pushing during the second half of the season for a first win in Moto2, something I’ve been thinking about a lot during the break. I’ve also been thinking about the championship; the leading four have pulled a bit of a gap at the top of the standings, but if I stay calm and string together some top five finishes in the next few races then I know I can close back up on them. I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead and I hope we’ll be able to put on a good show for the fans, on our only appearance America this season.” Mika Kallio #36: “I spent most of the summer break at home relaxing, so I’m all set for the second half of the season. Indy isn’t one of my favourite tracks, as the layout isn’t so exciting and the grip can be unpredictable from one corner to the next because of the different types of tarmac. But anyway, for us, we need to focus on finding a solution to the chatter problem mid-race that has plagued us all season. We’ve made changes to the suspension the chassis, the balance, the weight and the length of the bike already, but the problem remains. We think we maybe have a solution for Indianapolis, but we won’t know for certain until we try it in free practice. Both me and Scott are pushing hard to give the team a first Moto2 win this season and, if our solution to the chatter problem works, then we’ll be one step closer to achieving that.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “We need to get the second half of the season off to a strong start with two good results at Indianapolis this weekend. We know Scott’s potential at this circuit; two years ago he secured his first Moto2 podium finish at Indy and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him up there once again this weekend. For most of the year Mika has been struggling with a chatter problem, the cause of which has so far baffled our chassis, tyre and suspension technicians. We will try a very different approach to the problem this weekend, which I hope will finally eliminate the chatter. Without the chatter, we know that Mika is more than capable of fighting not just for the podium, but the top step of the podium.” More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia Moto2 Team: Julián Simón is confident that the second part of the championship will be very positive Julián Simón is motivated and confident before the beginning of the second part of the season. For the Villacañas rider going to Indianapolis and the other G.P.s means a trip towards hope and good results. Neither him nor the team have spared any effort to find the solution that would eventually bring along the expected results. The Blusens Avintia rider feels comfortable on the legendary U.S. track and the podium knows what it is like to receive Julián as a rider qualifying in the second position in Moto2. It would be great if they could coincide again this season”¦ Julián Simón: “These days-off felt really great after the complicated first part of the season we have been through. I had time to reflect and to try to improve the technique on the bike as well as my riding skills. I have been meditating a lot over the situation we have been through and I am looking into the future optimistically. I am sure this second part of the season will be a “different story”. I trained a lot cycling in Supermotard and I still swim a lot. I truly feel very strong. But I had fun and relaxed too. I spent a week in Ibiza resting and enjoying myself with my friends. Now is time to mount my motorbike again and I really want to move on to a new stage and I want it to be positive.” More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia Moto3 Team: Maverick Viñales willing to get back into action in Indianapolis Maverick feels relaxed and in perfect shape and is willing to get back into action in Indianapolis after nearly a five-week break during which he cleared his mind from the frantic pace of the world championship combining exercise and leisure. Both him and the team were able to rest but they have not forgotten that this second part of the contest is crucial for them to meet their objectives and they have not lowered their guard anytime. Indianapolis is very much to Viñales’s liking and last year he reached the second position there. He will surely be looking for a win this time even though finishing among the best riders will also be positive. Maverick Viñales: “I really enjoyed these days-off. It was great to be at home among my friends for nearly five weeks. I cycled a lot, ran a lot up in the mountains and exercised too. It was nothing like “working” though. I hardly ever have that much time to be with my friends and go to the beach or the swimming pool. They were truly fantastic days during which I managed to combine work and fun but I must confess that I am dying to ride my motorbike again and I can’t wait for the action to resume. I really like Indianapolis and last year I made it to the podium so this year I’d really like to repeat this performance. The track has got long stretches and we are aware that the KTM’s are pretty fast but my team has been working and I am sure they’ll give me a proper bike to battle with. I want it to start now!”